I don't know about you guys, but it seems like every trader I know now trades options these days. And more and more newbies in the markets are skipping trading stocks altogether and jumping right into the options ring. One look at the continuing explosion of options volumes on the main exchanges backs this up.
It wasn't always this way.
For much of my early career, options trading was the "complicated" backwater of investing, reserved mostly for investors selling covered calls on their long-term holdings to derive some extra income in their portfolios.
Everyone’s an Options Trader Now—In Markets and in Life
Options trading has exploded in popularity. It seems like everyone, from Wall Street veterans to TikTok influencers, is placing bets on calls and puts. But this obsession with optionality isn’t just happening in the markets—it’s everywhere. Across industries and careers, people are structuring their decisions like options traders, seeking asymmetric rewards, hedging risks, and keeping multiple paths open.
This phenomenon raises an interesting question: Are people trading more options because they think like traders, or are traders just responding to a broader shift in how we approach risk and opportunity? Let’s explore how different industries reflect the same mindset.
Tech & Startups: Venture Capital as Call Options
In Silicon Valley, venture capitalists behave much like options traders. They make a series of small bets on startups, knowing most will expire worthless, but one or two might yield outsized returns. Founders do the same—building an early-stage company is effectively a leveraged bet on an idea, with a limited downside (it fails) and an unlimited upside (it becomes a unicorn). And when a startup “pivots,” it’s essentially rolling its options into a new trade.
Hollywood & Entertainment: The Art of Keeping Options Open
Hollywood operates on optionality. Studios buy the rights to books and scripts they may never produce, just to ensure that no one else can. Actors sign multi-picture deals, giving them flexibility in case a franchise takes off. Even content creators on YouTube or TikTok hedge their bets, maintaining multiple revenue streams—brand deals, ad revenue, merchandise—so they aren’t overly dependent on any one source of income.
Corporate Careers: The Rise of Gig Work & Equity Compensation
More professionals are structuring their careers like option portfolios. Traditional full-time jobs are no longer the default; instead, contract work, side hustles, and startup equity deals provide flexibility. Employees negotiate stock options and exit clauses, ensuring they have leverage in case things go sideways. In many ways, a career is no longer a linear path—it’s a series of options trades, with people constantly reassessing where they want to double down or cut losses.
Sports: Teams and Players as Traders
Professional sports have fully embraced optionality. Teams sign players to option-heavy contracts, allowing them to retain talent without long-term commitments. Athletes themselves structure their deals with player options, escape clauses, and endorsement deals that offer flexibility. The modern sports world is less about lifetime loyalty and more about strategic positioning, just like options trading. (Shoutout to my boy Josh Allen on his monster new contract with the Buffalo Bills. With $250 of guaranteed money, he's long a put option to protect his future revenues!)
Education & Personal Development: A Portfolio of Skills
Even education is becoming more option-driven. People are moving away from rigid, single-track careers and instead accumulating a portfolio of skills. Online courses, certifications, and side projects give people the ability to pivot when opportunities arise. Lifelong learning has become the equivalent of rolling options forward—keeping doors open for future opportunities.
Real Estate: The Option to Buy (or Not)
Real estate developers frequently use option contracts to control land without fully committing. They secure the right (but not the obligation) to purchase a property at a later date, much like a call option. Homebuyers, too, are thinking more like traders—many prefer renting over buying to maintain flexibility, or they invest in multiple properties to hedge against market swings.
The Double-Edged Sword of Optionality
While optionality offers flexibility, it also has a downside: decision paralysis. Too many choices can make it harder to commit, whether in finance, careers, or personal life. Just as an options trader can struggle to manage an overcomplicated portfolio, a person juggling too many career paths or investments might find themselves spread too thin.
The key, both in markets and in life, is knowing when to exercise an option and when to let it expire. Some opportunities are worth doubling down on, while others are best left alone.
So, are we all options traders now? In a way, yes. Whether we’re trading in the stock market, negotiating a job offer, or planning a career pivot, we’re all making bets on the future, balancing risk, reward, and the ability to adapt.
And just like in options trading, the winners aren’t always the ones making the most trades—but the ones who know which ones to take.
Sean McLaughlin | Chief Options Strategist, All Star Charts
