To The Moon

Event Recap | Tiger Brokers Singapore | 28 October 2026

Subtitle: Understand Before You Trade: How Options Work, What Drives Their Price, and Why Strategies Like the Straddle Carry Real Costs

Are options really as dangerous as people say, or is the real risk not knowing what you are doing?

At our latest Tiger Brokers Singapore investment seminar, guest speaker Benedict Lim walked first-timers through three themes: how options work, what makes them cheap or expensive, and the strategies and risks that come with trading them.

[About the Speaker] Benedict Lim is the host of one of the largest retail investor meetup groups in Singapore, and a stock market trainer on U.S. options with over 15 years of experience in the stock markets. He is also a veteran of the banking industry, having worked at top global banks including Standard Chartered, DBS and HSBC, with over a decade as a financial analyst, business analyst and wealth manager.

Want to dive deeper into this session? Learn more here>>

• Benedict Lim's Playbook: Options Explained With a House (Why Education Comes Before Everything)

• Benedict Lim's Playbook: What Makes an Option Expensive? Time, Volatility and Liquidity

• Benedict Lim's Playbook: Straddles, Strangles and the Risks Behind Them

1.Options Made Simple: The House Analogy

Benedict explained options through a familiar example: paying a small deposit, about 1% of a S$1 million property, to lock in the right to buy that house at today's price.

Key Takeaways:

• A right, not an obligation: If the house rises, you can buy at the locked price. If it falls, you can walk away and lose only the deposit, which is the option premium.

• Calls and puts: A call is the right to buy at an agreed price and a put is the right to sell. Every option has a buyer and a seller.

• Covered vs. uncovered selling: Selling the right to buy a house you already own is far safer than selling it without owning the house.

• Position size matters: One contract covers 100 shares, so buying many contracts multiplies your loss when the trade goes wrong.

Speaker's Key Message: Options are not dangerous in themselves. The danger comes from trading them without understanding what you are doing, which is why education comes first.

2.What Makes an Option Expensive?

The price of an option has two parts, and Benedict showed how each one works.

Key Takeaways:

• Intrinsic value: The built-in difference between the current price and the strike price.

• Time and volatility: More time to expiry and higher volatility both make an option more expensive.

• Buyer or seller: Sellers collect premium and have time on their side, but neither side is automatically better. It depends on the stock, the strategy and what you are comfortable with.

• Check liquidity: Look at the bid-ask gap and the choice of expiry dates before trading.

Speaker's Key Message: Before asking whether an option is cheap, ask what you are paying for: value already in the option, plus time and uncertainty.

3.Straddles, Strangles and the Risks Behind Them

When you are not sure which way a stock will go, a straddle (a call and a put at the same strike and expiry) can benefit from a big move in either direction. A strangle uses different strikes, which is cheaper but needs a bigger move.

Key Takeaways:

• Two premiums to cover: The stock must move far enough to pay for both options before you profit.

• Time decay: Options lose value every day, faster near expiry, and you can lose 100% of the capital if the stock does not move.

• Volatility crush: A sharp fall in implied volatility can shrink option prices even when the stock moves.

• Edge and size: Trading differs from gambling because you have an edge and size your positions with discipline.

Speaker's Key Message: Strategies that look clever on paper still depend on timing, cost and risk management.

4.Putting It Together: The Three Building Blocks

Rather than jumping to a strategy, investors can first make sure they understand each building block and how the three connect.

5.From the Room

Benedict opened by asking who had traded options before. Only a handful had, and even fewer had done so more than a couple of times, so he kept the explanations simple. One audience question compared the straddle with the strangle, which he answered by noting that the strangle costs less but needs a bigger move, while the straddle is simpler for beginners.

The point that came through again and again: understanding what you are trading, what it costs and what can go wrong matters more than chasing a big payoff.

Final Takeaway: Education Before Strategy

The central message of the evening was clear: options become far less intimidating once you understand the basics. A small deposit can control a large asset, the price depends on time and volatility, and every strategy has a cost that must be covered.

Thank you to our guest speaker and everyone who joined Tiger Brokers Singapore for an engaging evening of market insights, investment education and thoughtful discussions.

Markets are always moving - and sometimes, the best move is knowing what works for you.

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