Fifteen modules, one exam. Sixteen questions run through the course in order, from the forward price in Module 2 to VIX futures in Module 15. Nine are live: you read a real number off a Terminal panel and type it in. Seven are fixed concept checks. Every answer comes back with the reasoning and the lesson to reread, so a miss tells you where to go.
How the exam works
- Keep the Terminal open in a second tab. Each live question names the ticker, the panel and where to read, and fills in the expiration and strike from the market when the page loads.
- The grader reads the same live data, within a tolerance for the market moving while you work. When a reading sits right on the line between two choices, either counts.
- Miss twice and the page shows the live value and the working.
- The data is live, so the answers change daily. Retake it next month for new numbers on the same skills.
What it covers
| Questions | Modules | Skill tested |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | 2, 3 | The forward from a parity pair; why models grow the stock at the risk-free rate |
| 3 to 4 | 4 | IV as a move; IV against its own year |
| 5 to 7 | 5, 6, 7 | The straddle's break-even move; hedged P&L; adding Greeks |
| 8 to 10 | 8, 9, 10 | Condor risk; a vertical's payoff; early exercise |
| 11 to 12 | 11 | Skew and term structure |
| 13 to 16 | 12 to 15 | Index hedge size; short put margin; the wheel; the VIX futures roll |
Module 1 runs under every question: intrinsic value, breakevens and payoff at expiration.
The ideas that carry the marks
Delta is the hedge ratio. Once it is hedged, what is left is movement against time. The movement side is gamma, and theta is its rent, so a hedged option wins or loses on whether the stock moves more than the implied volatility you traded at.
Then the surface. Puts below the market carry more volatility than calls above it, the skew. Across expirations, the term structure usually slopes up and turns over when something near-term is priced in. To turn a price into a volatility, the IV calculator runs the model in reverse.
How to study for it
- Missed 1 or 2: Module 2, Put-call parity; Module 3, Why the model ignores the stock's expected return.
- Missed 3 or 4: Module 4, Turning volatility into a move, and IV rank and IV percentile.
- Missed 5 to 7: Module 5, The Greeks together; Module 6, What a hedged position earns; Module 7, Adding Greeks across legs.
- Missed 8 to 10: Module 8, Butterflies and condors; Module 9, Vertical spreads; Module 10, When to exercise early.
- Missed 11 or 12: Module 11, Skew, and Term structure.
- Missed 13 to 16: Module 12, Hedging a portfolio with index options; Module 13, Margin and buying power; Module 14, The wheel; Module 15, VIX futures and VIX options.
Your turn
Start with question 1 on MSFT and work down in order. The questions follow the course, so your first misses show where the foundation needs work. Then run the Module 12 morning checklist on a ticker you trade: that is the exam you take every day from here on.