Course Descriptions

Fundamentals of Technical Analysis

Continuing Education Credit: 3 hours

Student Access: Valid for 12 weeks from date of purchase (self-paced course)

Course Overview: This course, taught by Ralph J. Acampora, CMT of Knight Equity Markets, covers the basics of technical analysis. Topics include identification of trends, phases of price activity, Dow's Theory, Elliot's Wave Principle, market indicators, and time cycles.

  • Tools used in Technical Analysis

    Compares and contrasts various types of charts such as line, bar, candlestick, and point and figure charts.

  • Four Phases of Price Activity

    Describes the concepts of moving averages, support, resistance, observations, and trends as related to stock price.

  • Types of Indicators

    This lesson covers definitions, uses and applications of market indicators, momentum indicators, and investor sentiment indicators.

New! Managing Stock Positions

Continuing Education Credit: 1 hour

Student Access: Valid for 6 weeks from the date of registration (self-paced course). This course is $30, 40% off for STA members.

Course Overview: Strategies are presented for managing long stock positions. The lesson also discusses how options, along with a forecast for an underlying stock, may help investors to lock in profits, reduce break-even points and manage risk. Various situations are presented along with a number of possible forecasts for the underlying stock, and strategies that best fit each forecast.


New! Managing Option Positions

Continuing Education Credit: 1 hour

Student Access: Valid for 6 weeks from the date of registration (self-paced course). This course is $30, 40% off for STA members.

Course Overview: Strategies are presented that allow you to manage, or take follow-up action, to protect unrealized profits, or to help eliminate or reduce accrued losses on your option positions. Various positions are examined to determine what, if any, follow-up action is warranted in light of the underlying stock's performance since the position was initiated and, if applicable, the trader's revised forecast regarding the particular equity.


New! Trading Volatility

Continuing Education Credit: 1 hour

Student Access: Valid for 6 weeks from the date of registration (self-paced course). This course is $30, 40% off for STA members.

Course Overview: Various strategies are discussed including Long and Short Straddles, Long and Short Strangles, Butterflies, and Condors. The profit and loss potential of each strategy is examined as well as how each is related to volatility. This course also defines the term "Neutral Strategy" and explains why the phrase "Buying a Straddle" is often referred to as "Buying Volatility". The differences between a strangle and a straddle are also covered.


Covered Call Writing

Continuing Education Credit: 1 hour

Student Access: Valid for 6 weeks from the date of registration (self-paced course). This course is $30, 40% off for STA members.

Course Overview: An introductory course on Covered Call Writing that discusses basic terminology, writing calls against a long stock position, covered calls as an alternative to open orders, and the assignment of Short Calls. Also discussed is the return based strategy called the Buy/Write and how it can be managed by rolling.


The Options Primer - Options Concepts & Investment Strategies

Continuing Education Credit: 3 hours

Student Access: CBOE Course. Valid for 12 weeks from date of registration (self-paced course). This course is $75, 50% off for STA members.

Course Overview: A comprehensive course that introduces brokers to options terminology and mechanics. A step-by-step analysis of the profit and loss potential of an options position. Conservative options strategies to implement with your clients.

  • Introduction to Options Basics

    This module will teach you the unique attributes of options as well as how to adopt a new thinking process that using options requires.

  • Profit and Loss Diagrams

    In this module, you will learn how to create, interpret and calculate profit and loss diagrams, which can be an important first step in learning how to use options.

  • Investment Strategies

    This module focuses on the real uses of options through several types of investing strategies.

Essential Option Dynamics - Trading Concepts, Pricing and Strategies

Continuing Education Credit: 4 hours

Student Access: CBOE Course. Valid for 12 weeks from date of registration (self-paced course). This course is $75, 50% off for STA members.

Course Overview: How time decay, volatility and changes to other pricing components affect the price of an option. Using options for leverage. Understanding spreads, straddles and other complex options strategies. An introduction to index options and their use as portfolio insurance.

  • Index Options

    Concepts covered in this lesson include conservative ways of investing in an index fund, protecting a portfolio and the multiple indexes available.

  • Trading Strategies

    Topics covered include leverage, covered straddle, stock repair, LEAPS and buying calls and puts.

  • Option Price Behavior

    This lesson covers volatility, delta, time decay and implied volatility