Summary: Does this sound like you? You want the long-term returns from stocks but don't like the volatility. You like the security of income from bonds and CDs, but the yields are too low. You wish there was a sensible discipline you could follow that would provide the attractive returns offered by common stock yet with more consistency and less risk.

If so, then covered call writing may be the investment strategy you've been looking for.

You can achieve long-term returns commensurate with stock market returns but with lower volatility and less downside risk. The trick is to combine stocks with call options by "writing" a call against a stock you already own. Professional investment managers have been using this strategy for years, and recent developments have now made it easier for individual investors to employ it as well. Options experts Richard Lehman and Lawrence McMillan unlock the secrets of covered call writing in this groundbreaking, easy-to-understand guide.