In this week's Five Good Questions, we're interviewing Erik Kobayashi-Solomon about his book The Intelligent Options Investor.
Erik Kobayashi-Solomon is a 20-year veteran of investment banking, hedge funds, and third-party analysis industry. He is also the co-founder of IOI Investor Services, LLC, a company that helps institutional and individual investors close the gap between their investment responsibility and their skill set. His book, The Intelligent Option Investor, was published by McGraw-Hill as a well-regarded contribution to the value investing community.
1. Many value investors may feel like options are dangerous, I know I did. Why was I wrong to be fearful and how can options be a useful tool for an investor?
2. Assuming your analysis leads you to believe a company is undervalued, why might options be better expression than just buying and holding? What about the element of timing that options introduce?
3. If you don’t believe in the Efficient Market Hypothesis, why should you be especially attracted to options investing?
4. What is delta, and what can it tell us about Mr. Market?
5. What are LEAPS and are they a good first step for a traditional value investor to dip their toe in the options water? How would address the concern that an investor might feel about getting comfortable with the relative trade-offs of premium price vs. tenor and strike price?