Welcome to your guide on long-term options for strategic portfolio management

Options 10 minutes to read
Koen Hoorelbeke

Investment and Options Strategist

Introduction


Welcome to our specialized resource designed to help you strategically manage profits and reduce reliance on single (or few) positions within your portfolio using long-term options. This guide is crafted to assist you in understanding and applying long-term options to diversify investments and secure gains while maintaining market exposure.

What you will find here


This resource is ideal for investors who have realized significant gains from their holdings or are experiencing large swings in portfolio value. Here, you will find tailored information and step-by-step guides to help you smartly leverage long-term options:

Case studies
Sarah’s strategy with long-term options   Explore how Sarah uses long-term options to lock in profits from a major stock holding while freeing up capital for other investments.
Alex’s method for portfolio diversification with long-term options   Learn how Alex employs long-term options to reduce dependency on a single profitable stock while maintaining upside potential.
Educational resources
Understanding long-term options   A comprehensive guide that explains what long-term options are, how they work, and how they can be used to manage financial risks and opportunities.
How to buy and manage long-term options on the Saxo platform Detailed instructions to effectively purchase and oversee long-term options, enhancing your investment strategy on the Saxo platform.
Further learning
If you're looking to deepen your understanding of options trading or wish to start from the basics, our Zero-to-Hero Educational Series provides a solid foundation in trading principles and advanced strategies:
  • From zero to hero - buying options  This article provides an introduction to options trading, covering the basics of buying and selling options, how to make money with them, and the risks involved.
  • From zero to hero - selling options  This article specifically provides an introduction to selling options, often called premium selling and how to make money with them, as well as the associated risks involved.
  • From zero to hero - option strategies  The article outlines how to manage risks and enhance potential rewards by using defined risk strategies like vertical spreads and undefined risk strategies such as strangles. It offers insight into choosing between debit and credit spreads and explains the terms commonly used in options trading. The piece serves as a guide for investors and traders seeking to better understand and utilize options strategies in their portfolio management.
  • From zero to hero - options lexicon  This article serves as an essential guide to options trading terminology, providing a comprehensive list of keywords for anyone engaged in options trading.
Related to long-term options are of course "normal" calls ... hear everything about that in episode 3 of our podcast series "Saxo Options Talk" by Koen Hoorelbeke and Peter Siks:
  • Options Talk - Episode 03 - Long Calls  Buying call options may seem straightforward, but there's more to it than initially meets the eye. In this episode, Koen and Peter break down why traders opt for long calls and how this approach significantly differs from traditional stock investing.
Why consider long-term options?
Long-term options can be a prudent addition to your investment approach if you're looking to:
  • Secure gains and reduce exposure from positions with significant profits.
  • Diversify your investment portfolio without completely divesting valuable holdings.
  • Maintain flexibility in your market exposure with a reduced capital commitment.

    Options are complex, high-risk products and require knowledge, investment experience and, in many applications, high risk acceptance. We recommend that before you invest in options, you inform yourself well about the operation and risks. In Saxo Bank's Terms of Use you will find more information on this in the Important Information Options, Futures, Margin and Deficit Procedure. You can also consult the Essential Information Document of the option you want to invest in on Saxo Bank's website.

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