Options

Options play an important role in advanced markets. On one hand, they are instruments that allow investors with speculative intentions to achieve high returns. On the other hand, they serve as a means of hedging the value of equity portfolios.
Unlike futures contracts, options exhibit asymmetry of risk.

The holder of an option has the potential to gain significant profits (when accurately predicting the direction of, for example, a stock index), or will only incur a loss equal to the initial option purchase cost (when predictions prove to be incorrect).