CBOE Origin Remembrances: Paul Stevens

By Lawrence G. McMillan

I have known Paul Stevens since the 1970’s. He has had a long a successful career in the options arena. Paul (an English major in college) was kind enough to write up some memories, and then we talked for a while, adding in more of his experiences.

Comments on the 50th CBOE anniversary

By Paul Stevens

I began my career as a Put and Call Dealer in 1968 with Saul Lerner & Co. It was a very small business, with eight or ten dealers in lower Manhattan. It was a “workout market” where not every bid got filled. A quote was just an indication and relationships with the member firm options desk was critical to getting your share of orders. In 1971, I joined Ragnar Options, a start-up with all of us still in our twenties. Our innovation was making firm quotes in addition to the workout quote. On a good day, we might have done 300 contracts. Our profit was the spread between what the buyer paid and what we paid the seller. It generally was $25 minimum per contract. We also bought straddles for inventory and offered “specials” in the WSJ once a week. Within six months, we were the largest put and call dealer by volume....

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