• Classes

Optionetics Instructors

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  Colin Allen

  Optionetics Instructor

  Colin has been trading for over 11 years, and a full time options, foreign exchange and futures trader for the last 5 years. Having originally learnt his craft as an Optionetics student, he understands the needs of new traders. The opportunity to teach what he learned trading a wide variety of market conditions, and to see students succeed, is something Colin finds very motivating as an instructor for the advanced level Optionetics classes in Australia.

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  Mark Barretto

  Optionetics Instructor

  Mark has been trading options for over 7 years and attributes his success as a trader to having done every Optionetics course available. Mark developed his trading skills while still working his day job until ultimately reaching the point where he could quit working for others. He is now a full time trader and a passionate instructor for the advanced level Optionetics classes in Australia.

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  Jeffery Beamer

  Optionetics Instructor

  Jeffrey Beamer is a 26 year veteran of the trading/financial services industry and is Co-founder and Partner of Lacerte Capital Partners L.P. and Lacerte Capital Advisors LLC., a Registered Investment Advisor servicing the Hedge Fund and Mutual Fund industry. Jeffrey currently serves as Portfolio Manager and Director of Trading and Research for the firm. He worked for Fidelity Investments for 12 years before leaving to start his own firm. In 2002 Jeff began serving as an instructor for Optionetics and has enjoyed sharing his knowledge with students. During his 2 1/2 decades if trading, which has included trading in equities, commodities, futures, bonds, and options on each, Jeff has traded through both ends of severe moves in the markets. He carries a series 65 license as a Registered Investment Advisor and currently serves on the board of directors for the Dallas Chapter of the Security Traders Association and is an active member of the Market Technicians Association.

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  Chris Birk

  Optionetics Instructor

  Chris received his degree in finance from the University of Utah. Frustrated with classmates and professors who were unwilling to try anything new or exercise their creativity, he began trading options while still a student. A self-described math nerd, he was excited by both the freedom and the challenge options trading offered.
  
  He also spent several years in the mortgage and financial advising industries. He saw the bubble coming before his bosses did, and got out just in time. In 2007, he made a 180 degree career turn, leaving a reputable banking institution to work for a company that teaches people how to soundly manage their own money: at Optionetics, instead of helping people increase their debt, he gets to show them how to achieve financial freedom.
  
  Having group managed a quarter million dollar fund, as well as his own investments from very early on, Chris's experience outstrips his age. He's currently teaching his one year-old son how to manage a collar position.

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  Joe Contes

  Optionetics Instructor

  Joe Contes is an options trader with many years of trading experience beginning in the late 80's. As a student of Optionetics since 2001 and an instructor since early 2003, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his students at all levels of classes. His high energy style of teaching makes him is a favorite among students from all across the world.

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  Christina DuBois-Nugent

  Optionetics Instructor

  Christina has been trading options for over 16 years. An honors graduate of the University of New Orleans with a BS in Finance with a Minor in Real Estate, she was the recipient of an internship in the international trust department of a large banking institution that began her career and love for trading. Besides actively trading, she became part of Home Depot's success story in roles as Help Desk Manager and Senior IS Director. Her trading style focuses on simple strategies and she has incorporated this into a teaching style that has made her a favored Optionetics speaker.

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  Nick Gazzolo

  Optionetics Instructor

  Nick began trading options in 1998. After taking all of the Optionetics' courses repeatedly, he joined the first Elite Traders program and then become an instructor in 2004. Nick has an advanced degree in psychology and chooses to apply it to himself and other people in the markets. His passions are trading, teaching, and traveling. Nick feels fortunate to share these passions with others. When he's not trading or teaching, he loves to read, watch movies, and sail. Favorite strategies are dynamic collars, butterflies and credit spreads. Nick teaches in the Trading Essentials Class, Power Tools and other on-line classes.

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  Tom Gentile

  Senior Vice President, Optionetics

  Tom is Senior Vice-President and co-Founder of Optionetics. Tom started his trading career on Wall Street at the American Stock Exchange, and eventually turned to trading off the floor. He has played key roles in the development of Optionetics. Tom has made appearances on Your World with Neal Cavuto, CNBC Europe, Bloomberg, Squawk Box and Reuters. His works can be found in monthly magazines such as Stocks and commodities, and he co-authored The Stock Market Course and The Volatility Course. Tom feels that his success has a lot to do with teaching people around the world how to use alternative strategies in the market.

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  Jay Harris

  Optionetics Instructor

  Jay Harris has been involved with stock market seminar education for 14 years. He has been a public speaker and educator, was director of seminars and has helped produce seminar education for youth programs and curriculum for high school 'trading clubs'. He has been involved with the market since the time our then Federal Reserve Chairman coined the phrase 'irrational exuberance' when describing what was going on in the markets. Jay has seen the markets in some of their most robust times and has seen the market 'top out' and roll over causing much pain to those uneducated about how to protect and preserve profits. He couldn't be more enthused to be in alliance with Optionetics as he sees them as the ONE educational entity that focuses on controlling one's risk while having the goal of profitability in mind.
  
  He brings his vast amount of experience and an unyielding passion for making a positive, quality difference in the lives of his students and everyone searching for the opportunity to utilize the stock market as a means to a better life. To everyone who is willing to make the choice that continued education is the key to success in any field he welcomes you on board and feels blessed to be a part of that journey with you.

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  Jay Kaeppel

  Optionetics Instructor

  Jay Kaeppel, a Trading Strategist with Optionetics, Inc., is the co-editor of Optionetics ETF Investor newsletter and writes a weekly column, Kaeppel's Corner for www.optionetics.com. Jay has been active in the financial markets for over two decades. He was the Head Trader at a CTA for 8 years and a trading system and trading software developer for 15 years. As an author, Jay has published four books on trading, The Four Biggest Mistakes in Option Trading, The Four Biggest Mistakes in Futures Trading, The Option Trader's Guide to Probability, Volatility and Timing and Seasonal Stock Market Trends: The Definitive Guide to Seasonal Stock Market Trading (Wiley, January 2009).

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  Mike Lawch

  Optionetics Instructor

  Mike has been a trader of futures, options on futures, stocks, and equity options since 1995, when he left his VP and CFO position at Criterion Investment Management. Mike brings you a wealth of knowledge and information not easily gained on your own. He continues to share his experience and in-depth understanding of the world of options investing as an instructor for Optionetics seminars worldwide. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, with a BS in Industrial Engineering and Management Science. He received his MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern, with majors in accounting, finance and quantitative methods. Mike is a non-practicing CPA in both Illinois and Texas. His career includes a variety of financial positions including Operational Auditor for the Far East Division of Exxon Corporation, Assistant Controller and Treasurer for Aminoil USA, and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Criterion Investment Management.

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  Steve Novak

  Optionetics Instructor

  Steven Novak has been trading stocks and options since 1999. His initial foray into trading was typical--he lost a lot of money very quickly. But the same passion for reading and learning that had propelled him while studying literature in college proved useful in his trading education. He noticed that nearly every great trader he met or read about started out by paying hefty tuition in trading losses. He also noticed that some people quit and never came back after that happened, while others used their mistakes as a learning opportunity to teach them how to trade better next time, and it was to this camp that he determined to become a member.

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  Devon Pearsall

  Optionetics Instructor

  Devon began his stock market career in 1994 after attending college courses in finance. He lives in Portland, Oregon and has managed Direct Access trading branches and educational systems before coming to Optionetics. Devon realizes that they keys to success in the market revolve around risk, trading and money management and teaches traders to set and follow guidelines in their trading plan.

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  Nick Pham

  Optionetics Instructor

  Living in Chicago, Nick had always had a passion for the stock and options markets. After graduating from college with a finance degree, he taught high school math for 8 years, while at the same time learning how to trade stocks and options at an options trading firm. He's been a trading coach to many students, and he has taught virtual trading classrooms on various topics, including technical analysis, risk management, and trading psychology. Nick is currently the LiveTrade anchor for Optionetics.

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  Jane Richards

  Optionetics Instructor

  Jane has been trading since 2007 when she joined Optionetics as a student. Her work ethic and passion for education has helped her achieve trading success whilst still being able to be a stay-home mum.
  As an Optionetics instructor, Jane uses her experience and knowledge to help others reach their goals. She actively trades Options, Futures and Forex while running a vineyard and raising her family. She believes that trading success can be achieved by anyone if you’re willing to learn from mistakes and commit to your education.

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  Rob Roy

  Optionetics Instructor

  Rob has a degree in Business Administration and formed his own Financial Advisory firm, following a twelve year career as a Golf Professional. Rob served as President and Registered Securities Principal to a team of over twenty independent Representatives. As a respected Financial Representative, Rob was asked to become an instructor for the Florida School of Insurance and was listed as an Honored Professional in Nationwide Register's Who's Who in Executives and Businesses.
  
  It was during this time that Rob attended his first Optionetics seminar to learn the value of options as both a vehicle to profit and manage risk in the markets. After completing his Optionetics education, Rob became a writer for optionetics.com and was eventually asked to become an Optionetics instructor. Rob gained notoriety for his prowess in technical analysis, specifically for his expertise in Elliott Wave.
  
  Rob is now one of our more tenured instructors, having traveled internationally delivering Optionetics education for over ten years.

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  Chris Tyler

  Optionetics Writer

  Chris Tyler is a Senior Analyst / Writer for Optionetics, a self-proclaimed option hedge hog and former equity option market maker in products including Phillip Morris, Seagate and Compaq on the floors of the American and Pacific exchanges.
  
  Mr. Tyler’s unique daily and weekly columns strive to educate, sometimes pontificate, report, unearth and deliver a unique take on the US equity and option markets. Additional analysis can be found daily at Investors.com and monthly publications Traders Magazine and Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities.

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  Mike Wade

  Optionetics Instructor

  After a 14 year career in the Information Technology industry working for companies such as GTE, and Oracle Corporation, Mike began his trading career selling calls against his Oracle stock (covered calls). The power of options appealed to him and 12 years ago he left his corporate job and began trading options, specializing in selling strategies. Mike joined Optionetics in early 2002 and teaches a wide range of Optionetics classes. He has focused on harnessing the power of ProfitSource for greater directional probability and bringing these techniques, including sector analysis, to advanced classes as well as the Directional Trading Master Coaching class.

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  Clare White

  Optionetics Writer

  Clare writes technical analysis, money management and options content for Optionetics. Prior to this she worked at Charles Schwab in the Capital Markets & Retail Divisions, both with a focus on options trading. Clare has 10 years experience trading equities & options and holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics along with the MTA Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designation.