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Expiration, Assignment & the Rules

The fine print that costs beginners real money.

Intermediate · 5 video lessons · 10 minutes · 5-question video exercise · certificate

What you'll learn

• What really happens to your options at 4 PM on expiration day.
• When early assignment happens, and how to handle it calmly.
• SPX versus SPY: why two similar products settle so differently.
• And the hidden costs and tax rules that eat into your returns.

Lessons

1. What happens at expiration (2 min) — Out of the money, in the money, automatic exercise and pin risk — what happens to your options on the last day.
2. Assignment & early exercise (2 min) — If you sell options, you can be assigned — sometimes early. Learn how it works, when it's likely, and what to do.
3. SPX vs. SPY: how settlement works (2 min) — Two ways to trade the S&P 500 with options, two very different sets of rules. Learn settlement, size and timing.
4. Liquidity: the cost you don't see (2 min) — The bid-ask spread can quietly eat your edge. Learn to measure it, avoid it and get better fills.
5. Taxes & the wash-sale rule (2 min) — US basics every trader should know: short vs. long-term gains, the wash-sale rule, and keeping records. Education, not tax advice.

Exercise and certificate

The course ends with a 5-question video exercise. Submit your answers, see your score and the reasoning instantly, and pass with 80% to earn the Expiration, Assignment & the Rules certificate.

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