45 books like Option Trading

By Euan Sinclair,

Here are 45 books that Option Trading fans have personally recommended if you like Option Trading. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Statistics and Data Analysis for Financial Engineering: With R Examples

Ernest P. Chan Author Of Quantitative Trading: How to Build Your Own Algorithmic Trading Business

From my list on quantitative trading for beginners.

Why am I passionate about this?

A noted quantitative hedge fund manager and quant finance author, Ernie is the founder of QTS Capital Management and Predictnow.ai. Previously he has applied his expertise in machine learning at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center’s Human Language Technologies group, at Morgan Stanley’s Data Mining and Artificial Intelligence Group, and at Credit Suisse’s Horizon Trading Group. Ernie was quoted by Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, and the CIO magazine, and interviewed on CNBC’s Closing Bell program. He is an adjunct faculty at Northwestern University’s Master’s in Data Science program and supervises student theses there. Ernie holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.

Ernest's book list on quantitative trading for beginners

Ernest P. Chan Why did Ernest love this book?

I have used this book to teach my Financial Risk Analytics course at Northwestern University for many years. As a textbook, it is surprisingly easy to read, and the abundant exercises are great. This would be a foundational text to read after you have read my own books. It puts you on solid ground to understand all the financial babble that you may read elsewhere. It includes extensive coverage of most basic topics important to a serious quantitative trader, while not being overly mathematical. Easily understandable if you have basic programming and math background from first year of university.

Everything is practical in this book, which isn’t what you would expect from a textbook! There is no math for math’s sake. I have used the techniques discussed in this book for real trading, and for creating features at my machine learning SaaS predictnow.ai. Examples: What’s the difference between net…

By David Ruppert, David S. Matteson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Statistics and Data Analysis for Financial Engineering as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The new edition of this influential textbook, geared towards graduate or advanced undergraduate students, teaches the statistics necessary for financial engineering. In doing so, it illustrates concepts using financial markets and economic data, R Labs with real-data exercises, and graphical and analytic methods for modeling and diagnosing modeling errors. These methods are critical because financial engineers now have access to enormous quantities of data. To make use of this data, the powerful methods in this book for working with quantitative information, particularly about volatility and risks, are essential. Strengths of this fully-revised edition include major additions to the R code…


Book cover of Asset Management: A Systematic Approach to Factor Investing

Ernest P. Chan Author Of Quantitative Trading: How to Build Your Own Algorithmic Trading Business

From my list on quantitative trading for beginners.

Why am I passionate about this?

A noted quantitative hedge fund manager and quant finance author, Ernie is the founder of QTS Capital Management and Predictnow.ai. Previously he has applied his expertise in machine learning at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center’s Human Language Technologies group, at Morgan Stanley’s Data Mining and Artificial Intelligence Group, and at Credit Suisse’s Horizon Trading Group. Ernie was quoted by Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, and the CIO magazine, and interviewed on CNBC’s Closing Bell program. He is an adjunct faculty at Northwestern University’s Master’s in Data Science program and supervises student theses there. Ernie holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.

Ernest's book list on quantitative trading for beginners

Ernest P. Chan Why did Ernest love this book?

As the book’s name suggests, it focuses on factor investing – i.e. long-term investments. Example: what do you think is the real (inflation-adjusted) return of the US stock vs bond markets over time? What is the best way to hedge inflation? (The answer may surprise you!) Nevertheless, a trader will also find inspiration in many of the market themes discussed. Example: Why is a mean-reverting strategy equivalent to shorting realized volatility?

This book has even less math than my 1st book pick, since Andrew Ang used it for his investment class for MBAs. Andrew was a well-known finance professor at Columbia University (where Warren Buffet got his Master’s). He is now Head of BlackRock (AUM=$9.5T!) Systematic Wealth Solutions. I have exchanged emails with him, and he is very friendly and patient with questions.

By Andrew Ang,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Asset Management as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Stocks and bonds? Real estate? Hedge funds? Private equity? If you think those are the things to focus on in building an investment portfolio, Andrew Ang has accumulated a body of research that will prove otherwise.
In his new book Asset Management: A Systematic Approach to Factor Investing, Ang upends the conventional wisdom about asset allocation by showing that what matters aren't asset class labels but the bundles of overlapping risks they represent. Making investments is like eating a healthy diet, Ang says: you've got to look through the foods you eat to focus on the nutrients they contain. Failing…


Book cover of Advances in Financial Machine Learning

Ernest P. Chan Author Of Quantitative Trading: How to Build Your Own Algorithmic Trading Business

From my list on quantitative trading for beginners.

Why am I passionate about this?

A noted quantitative hedge fund manager and quant finance author, Ernie is the founder of QTS Capital Management and Predictnow.ai. Previously he has applied his expertise in machine learning at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center’s Human Language Technologies group, at Morgan Stanley’s Data Mining and Artificial Intelligence Group, and at Credit Suisse’s Horizon Trading Group. Ernie was quoted by Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, and the CIO magazine, and interviewed on CNBC’s Closing Bell program. He is an adjunct faculty at Northwestern University’s Master’s in Data Science program and supervises student theses there. Ernie holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.

Ernest's book list on quantitative trading for beginners

Ernest P. Chan Why did Ernest love this book?

By now, you may notice that I like to recommend textbooks. I use this bestseller for my course in Financial Machine Learning at Northwestern University, but really, nobody interested in financial machine learning hasn’t read this book. The topics are highly relevant to every investor or trader – I read it at least 5 times to digest every nugget and have put them to very productive use in my trading as well as in my fintech firm predictnow.ai. It covers basic techniques such as random forest to advanced techniques such as Hierarchical Risk Parity, which is a big improvement over traditional portfolio optimization methods.

Marcos used to be Head of Machine Learning at AQR (AUM=$143B), and now is the Global Head of Quant Research at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. He is also very approachable to his readers and students. There was seldom an email or message from me to which…

By Marcos Lopez de Prado,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Advances in Financial Machine Learning as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Learn to understand and implement the latest machine learning innovations to improve your investment performance

Machine learning (ML) is changing virtually every aspect of our lives. Today, ML algorithms accomplish tasks that - until recently - only expert humans could perform. And finance is ripe for disruptive innovations that will transform how the following generations understand money and invest.

In the book, readers will learn how to:

Structure big data in a way that is amenable to ML algorithms Conduct research with ML algorithms on big data Use supercomputing methods and back test their discoveries while avoiding false positives

Advances…


Book cover of Algorithmic and High-Frequency Trading

Ernest P. Chan Author Of Quantitative Trading: How to Build Your Own Algorithmic Trading Business

From my list on quantitative trading for beginners.

Why am I passionate about this?

A noted quantitative hedge fund manager and quant finance author, Ernie is the founder of QTS Capital Management and Predictnow.ai. Previously he has applied his expertise in machine learning at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center’s Human Language Technologies group, at Morgan Stanley’s Data Mining and Artificial Intelligence Group, and at Credit Suisse’s Horizon Trading Group. Ernie was quoted by Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, and the CIO magazine, and interviewed on CNBC’s Closing Bell program. He is an adjunct faculty at Northwestern University’s Master’s in Data Science program and supervises student theses there. Ernie holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.

Ernest's book list on quantitative trading for beginners

Ernest P. Chan Why did Ernest love this book?

Finally, for those who are not afraid of math, they should read this book because there is a lot of heavy-duty math. The good news for the rest of us is you can ignore all the math and still get a lot out of it, especially knowledge about market microstructure and how to find the theoretically optimal trading strategies given some assumptions about the price dynamics. Even if you don’t want to or can’t solve those darn stochastic differential equations, you can still implement a numerical approximation. At the minimum, you will learn common trading lingo such as “walking the book” or “the ITCH feed”.

By Alvaro Cartea, Sebastian Jaimungal, Jose Penalva

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Algorithmic and High-Frequency Trading as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The design of trading algorithms requires sophisticated mathematical models backed up by reliable data. In this textbook, the authors develop models for algorithmic trading in contexts such as executing large orders, market making, targeting VWAP and other schedules, trading pairs or collection of assets, and executing in dark pools. These models are grounded on how the exchanges work, whether the algorithm is trading with better informed traders (adverse selection), and the type of information available to market participants at both ultra-high and low frequency. Algorithmic and High-Frequency Trading is the first book that combines sophisticated mathematical modelling, empirical facts and…


Book cover of The Complete Guide to Option Pricing Formulas

Alain Ruttiens Author Of Mathematics of the Financial Markets: Financial Instruments and Derivatives Modelling, Valuation and Risk Issues

From my list on quantitative finance applied to financial markets.

Why am I passionate about this?

Having a master's degree in chemical engineering, I wasn't destined to work in the area of quantitative finance… the reason why I professionally moved to this discipline aren't worth exposing, but as a matter of fact, I've been quickly fascinated by this science, and encountered some of my favorites, such as maths and statistics, as used in the traditional activity of an engineer. And I had many opportunities of combining the knowledge and practice of financial markets with pragmatism, typically of the engineer’s education, i.e. oriented toward problem solving. In addition, I've always loved teaching, and writing books on financial markets & instruments, hence the importance I'm giving to pedagogy in professional books.

Alain's book list on quantitative finance applied to financial markets

Alain Ruttiens Why did Alain love this book?

The valuation of options has been the subject of numerous studies, papers, and books.

The originality of this one is that it is collecting the resulting formulae to be used in practice, and for each of them, proposing related Excel spreadsheets, and VBA coding (also with a CD included). All types of options are covered, from “vanilla” to “exotics”, on every kind of underlyings (from traditional ones up to commodities and energy).

It also develops calculation methods for the options “greeks” and volatility. But the book is not only such a catalog of formulae, these are assorted by useful comments about the best way to apply them, and their validity limits. Not surprisingly, this book is qualified as the “bible” of options valuation.

By Espen Gaarder Haug,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Complete Guide to Option Pricing Formulas as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Long-established as a definitive resource by Wall Street professionals, The Complete Guide to Option Pricing Formulas has been revised and updated to reflect the realities of today's options markets. The Second Edition contains a complete listing of virtually every pricing formula_all presented in an easy-to-use dictionary format, with expert author commentary and ready-to-use programming code.

The Second Edition of this classic guide now includes more than 60 new option models and formulas...extensive tables providing an overview of all formulas...new examples and applications...and an updated CD containing all pricing formulas, with VBA code and ready-to-use Excel spreadsheets.

The volume also features…


Book cover of Theory of Value: An Axiomatic Analysis of Economic Equilibrium

Thijs ten Raa Author Of Microeconomics: Equilibrium and Efficiency

From my list on microeconomics on how markets are interconnected.

Why am I passionate about this?

Microeconomics is a turnoff to most readers. Not without reason. Many books in this field are dull rewrites of other books and opaque.  In particular, it is not clear how the behavior of individual consumers and producers adds to the performance—good or bad—of an economy. The books listed here helped me to sharpen my own mind and to make my writing lucid.

Thijs' book list on microeconomics on how markets are interconnected

Thijs ten Raa Why did Thijs love this book?

As a math student I found economics a slippery subject and, therefore, was hesitant to read any book on the subject. 

Theory of Value is a short, formal manuscript, that includes the definition of an economy. It was the first book I read in economics and I loved it. It induced me to move to New York and to study the field.


By Gerard Debreu,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Theory of Value as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"[This] beautiful and austere book . . . [is] an important landmark of economic theory."-F.H. Hahn, Journal of Political Economy
"An immortal classic of twentieth century economics. Every economist should own a copy."-Robert Lucas, University of Chicago
Theory of Value offers a rigorous, axiomatic, and formal analysis of producer behavior, consumer behavior, general equilibrium, and the optimality of the market mechanism for resource allocation.


Book cover of Candlestick Charting for Dummies

Ann C. Logue Author Of Day Trading for Dummies

From my list on for beginning traders.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been fascinated with money and investing. Trading is but one segment of the market, but it’s one that creates a lot of drama and excitement that draws people in—and that creates great stories. I also want people to do their research before they trade, because so many people lose money. Preparation, discipline, and strategy improve the odds of success. I’m a long-time financial author and consulting analyst. I have an MBA and am a CFA charter holder, the whole bit, and want to make financial information more accessible. There are a lot of people with a vested interest in making things more complicated than they need to be.

Ann's book list on for beginning traders

Ann C. Logue Why did Ann love this book?

Great trades come from market analysis, not hot tips on Reddit. Candlestick charts contain an enormous amount of information about market trends and activity. Learning charting takes some time, and this book is a great start. Whatever system you decide to follow, make notes of your trades. Plan them out, then note what worked and what didn’t. 

By Russell Rhoads,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Candlestick Charting for Dummies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Want to gain a trading edge with candlestick charts? Find them a little confusing? No worries! Candlestick Charting For Dummies sheds light on this time-tested method for finding the perfect moment to buy or sell. It demystifies technical and chart analysis and gives you the tools you need to identify trading patterns - and pounce! This friendly, practical, guide explains candlestick charting and technical analysis in plain English. In no time, you'll be working with common candlestick patterns, analyzing trading patterns, predicting market behavior, and making your smartest trades ever. You'll discover the advantages candlestick has over other charting methods…


Book cover of Getting Price Right: The Behavioral Economics of Profitable Pricing

Jeet Mukherjee Author Of Pricing with Confidence: Ten Rules for Increasing Profits and Staying Ahead of Inflation

From my list on make an impact in your organization through pricing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been working in value-based pricing for over 20 years and I’ve seen firsthand how it can transform a company’s profits when done right and executed properly through sales. While the specific strategies and tactics vary across industries, company size, and product offerings, many of the foundations and logic behind those strategies can be learned, and must be understood in order to grow a company’s revenue and profit growth in today’s markets. I’d love to connect about any of these topics – feel free to reach out on LinkedIn!

Jeet's book list on make an impact in your organization through pricing

Jeet Mukherjee Why did Jeet love this book?

This book takes a deeper look into the psychology of choices and pricing.

It helps provide more context and understanding around some familiar tactics and what drives buyer’s decisions. While price setting can be a technical activity, leaders need to understand the softer/behavioral skills to sell that price both internally and externally. Both components are important in order to get your pricing right.

By Gerald Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Getting Price Right as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner, 2022 Leonard L. Berry Marketing Book Award, American Marketing Association

How do leaders, managers, and proprietors go about the essential task of setting prices? What biases enter into this process, and why? How can a business debias its price setting to become more productive, strategic, and profitable?

Combining perceptive insights from behavioral economics with leading-edge ideas on price management, this book offers a new approach to pricing. Gerald Smith demonstrates why understanding, reframing, and refining everyday pricing processes-a firm's or manager's pricing orientation-results in a better long-term pricing strategy. He explores how pricing actually happens in practice and shows…


Book cover of Profitable Day and Swing Trading: Using Price / Volume Surges and Pattern Recognition to Catch Big Moves in the Stock Market + Website

Mark Leibovit Author Of The Trader's Book of Volume: The Definitive Guide to Volume Trading

From my list on trading your way to profits in the stock market.

Why am I passionate about this?

Mark Leibovit is Chief Market Strategist for Leibovit VR Newsletter. His technical expertise is in overall market timing and stock selection based upon his proprietary Volume Reversal (TM) methodology and Annual Forecast Model. Mark's extensive media television profile includes seven years as a consultant ‘Elf’ on Louis Rukeyser’s Wall Street Week television program, and over thirty years as a Market Monitor guest for PBS The Nightly Business Report. He also has appeared on Fox Business News, CNBC, BNN (Canada), and Bloomberg, and has been interviewed in Business Week, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. His comprehensive study on Volume Analysis, The Trader’s Book of Volume is a definitive guide to volume trading.

Mark's book list on trading your way to profits in the stock market

Mark Leibovit Why did Mark love this book?

Harry and I are personal friends and I am an occasional contributor on his daily live website.  Regardless, I follow his work everyday which is broadcast during market hours.  He and I  are both in our mid-70s and have been trading and writing about the stock market for 40-plus years.

Harry Boxer's proven techniques for short-term traders. He is the best I know for showing and using short-term technical stock market indicators.

By Harry Boxer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Profitable Day and Swing Trading as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Harry Boxer's proven techniques for short-term traders Written in easy-to-understand language, Profitable Day and Swing Trading + Website explains the trading tactics that draw on price, volume, and pattern recognition. Highly regarded trader Harry Boxer offers the information needed to recognize chart patterns, identify trades, and execute entries and exits that will maximize profits and limit losses. Boxer also reveals his concept of price-volume surges as the key to identifying the most lucrative trades. Throughout the book, Boxer describes his routine for preparing for each trading day, selecting stocks to monitor, and how he keeps track of prices and executes…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in pricing, mathematical models, and stock trading?

Pricing 19 books
Stock Trading 17 books