Part one of term paper
You buy or trade stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Some investors use options on stocks or cash indexes to protect and insure the value of their portfolios. A major advantage of options is their flexibility.  You can protect stock holdings from a decline in market price  You can increase income against current stock holding ...

Part two of term paper
... to take a position on the market in an effort to capitalize on an upward or downward market move. Unlike stocks, however, options can provide an investor the benefits of leverage over a position in an individual stock or basket of stocks reflecting the broad market. At the same time, options buyers also can take advantage of predetermined, limited risk. On the other hand, options writers assume significant risk if they do not hedge their positions. The most basic stock options are buying calls and ...