As our trading platform is primarily tailored towards trading shares and ETFs, we do not currently support options trading in most cases. Exceptions are made if the options are a significant part of a company's capital structure, or if you are given options and they are transferred to your Selfwealth ASX trading account.
Selfwealth does not support trading options on international markets.
What are options?
Options are contracts between two parties that give the buyer the right to buy shares at a certain price (the strike) before a predetermined expiry date. The buyer is not obliged to buy the shares on or before the expiry, and if the options expire without being 'exercised' (turned into shares) they will become worthless.
Options are often given as part of a special dividend or bonus issue by some companies, and can also be traded on the ASX like shares. When buying options the buyer will pay a 'premium' for each contract.
If the option is in the money (ITM) it means the underlying share price is above the strike price on or before the expiry date. In this case, the option-holder should strongly consider exercising the options as the shares can be purchased at the strike price, which is below the market price at the time.
If the options expiry date has passed, then the options cannot be exercised and will expire worthless.
You can find more information on options trading here on the ASX website.
How do I exercise my options?
If you have company options and wish to exercise them, you can do so through the share registry that manages that stock. To find out who the share registry is for a particular stock, you can go to the ASX website and search for the stock. Once you have found the company, scroll to the bottom of the page and the registry info will be displayed bottom-right.
If you choose to exercise your options, this means they will be converted into ordinary shares. They will be converted at the 'strike price' (the agreed price between buyer and seller when the option contract was undertaken) that the stock will be sold at if the options are exercised.
How do I get information on my options?
Selfwealth cannot disclose any information pertaining to the strike price or other particulars. You would need to obtain this information from the share registry that manages that stock.