Options are contracts that grant the right, but not the obligation to buy or sell an underlying asset at a set price on or before a certain date. Greg Stevens, VP of Options at Fidelity, was with us to explain ways to go about making this type of investment.

Stevens talks about how options let an investor leverage the financial return for a much smaller upfront investment. Options can be used to speculate but they can also be used to generate income or protect a position from downside loss. Stevens demonstrates Fidelity's new tool called Option Trade Builder, walking through how to execute the strategy.

Stevens shows how to buy options for Apple ahead of earnings at the end of January. He adds that clients can call a live person to help walk through the trading strategies.