SPOT OPTION ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Initially used in Europe as another way to trade currency options, single-payment options trading (SPOT) options have gained acceptance in other markets as well. Investors who are learning to invest might consider using them, as they offer another way to possibly generate profit and lower risk.
What are SPOT Options?
SPOT options allow an investor to set the conditions that must be met to receive a desired payout. Setting up this type of option involves three steps:

1. The investor defines a trading scenario that, according to his/her analysis, has the best prospects, including the risk-reward tradeoff.
2. The broker determines the probability the conditions will be met and proposes an appropriate premium. The price of the option or the premium quoted by the broker will depend on the likelihood of the scenario occurring.
3. The investor can agree to either pay the premium and then buy the option or turn it down. Normally, the price of the option or premium represents a percentage of thatpayout.

SPOT options are vanilla put and call options whose value is set by the conditional scenario, not just the price and the expiration date.

The Advantages and Disadvantages
Like most investing techniques, there are advantages when using SPOT options:

• While a bit different from normal options, SPOT options are easy to trade. With a normal option you might not be able to close out the position, since no one is willing to take the opposite side. With SPOT options, this is never a problem, since there is never a need to close out the position - it is a one-sided trade.
• SPOT options give you the opportunity to create different scenarios that allow choosing exactly what you believe will happen in the market. In fact, investors who use SPOT options define the specifics of the trade.
• With SPOT options, the downside risk is limited to the premium paid.
• The option scenario defines the reward, so it is known before entering the trade. Before committing to the trade, you know the risk-reward tradeoff....

SPOT options also have their disadvantages:

• Once you have bought a SPOT option, it cannot be traded to close out the position. Should conditions change, you cannot change your mind and sell the option.
• Your broker determines the premium you will pay based on the factors you set, including the underlying security, the strike price and the expiration date. You can only accept or reject the premium payment.
• It is difficult to predict the exact time period and strike price of the scenario you are proposing.