One of the most difficult parts of options trading is getting a handle on all of the data. With thousands of names trading with multiple expirations and multiple strikes, the equity option universe is enormous. One of my longer term projects is to set up a few very nice spreadsheets to search and screen options with data from Yahoo Finance as well as to manage risks embedded in options strategies and eventually I will get these tools created. In the mean time, I stumbled across a free online service from the CBOE that I believe will be useful for those who do not have access to good broker tools or data services. The online tool is called Volatility Finder by TradingBlock. The pre-set screens are rather simple and intuitive:
Pre-set Volatility Finder Screens
The results lack a bit of depth, but are very useful. A few enhancements would be the ability to export directly into a spreadsheet as well as screen for options of different maturities and moneyness, but free is free:
507% vol? I'm not touching it!
