OICs Wide World of Options

Wide World of Options: Market Madness, AI Boom and a 2026 Outlook

OICs Wide World of Options

Show Notes

Join host Mark Benzaquen for the final Wide World of Options broadcast of 2025 featuring Market Taker Mentoring's Dan Passarelli. In this insightful episode, Dan shares his perspective on the surprising market valuations of 2025, offers his outlook for 2026, and discusses the evolution of retail options traders. The conversation concludes with a fun lightning round, with a look into Dan's professional projects, including his upcoming book release in April 2026.

More from OICs Wide World of Options

Oct 1, 2026

Options trading is full of myths that keep smart investors on the sidelines — or worse, lead them to avoidable mistakes. In this episode of Wide World of Options, host Mark Benzaquen sits down with Dan Passarelli, founder of Market Taker Mentoring, to separate fact from fiction. From misconceptions about risk and complexity to the myths that even experienced traders still believe, Dan breaks down what's really going on beneath the surface of options trading — and what investors should understand about how options really work.

Sep 3, 2026

As exchanges and regulators explore extended and round-the-clock trading, what are the practical and regulatory implications? Aniceto (Andy) Solares of OCC's Regulatory Team joins host, Mark Benzaquen, to unpack the push toward near-continuous markets, from Capitol Hill's perspective to what it could mean for investors.

Aug 6, 2026

Host Mark Benzaquen sits down with Sara Levin, Managing Director, ETF and Derivative Trading at WallachBeth Capital, for her very first podcast appearance. Fresh off moderating a panel at the Options Industry Conference, Sara breaks down the rapid growth of derivative ETFs — from buffer and defined outcome strategies to FLEX options and box ETFs. She explains how the ETF wrapper has made sophisticated derivatives accessible to both retail and institutional investors, why education remains essential as these worlds collide, and what it really means to take a scalpel rather than a sledgehammer to the market.

Jul 2, 2026

In this episode, host Mark Benzaquen sits down with Steve Sosnick, Chief Strategist at Interactive Brokers, to explore the evolution of volatility from a simple pricing input to a full-fledged asset class. Steve breaks down the VIX, pushes back on the "fear gauge" label, and shares how investors at every level are using volatility-linked products to hedge risk and capture opportunity — before the conversation takes a lighter turn on life, karaoke, and loving what you do.

Jun 4, 2026

From election contracts to crypto derivatives, a new generation of markets is raising complex questions about oversight, jurisdiction and investor protection. In this all-new episode of Wide World of Options, former CFTC commissioner Dawn Stump sits down to explore how these products work, who's watching and where the regulatory lines are still being drawn.

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