Why Leading Financial Institutions Trust ORATS for Options Data (And Why Serious Traders Should Too)

When financial publishers like The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, Fidelity, and Reuters need accurate options intelligence, they turn to ORATS. The same is true for hedge funds, banks, and institutional trading desks. This overview explains why ORATS has become the trusted authority in options analytics and what that means for your trading.

ORATS was founded in 2001 by Matt Amberson, a former CBOE market maker with a decade on the trading floor. The platform reflects real trading experience, not theoretical modeling. Every indicator, surface, and tool started as a practical solution to a trading problem.

That perspective drives everything we build:

• Data designed for decision making

• Indicators created to solve real trading questions

• Models aligned with how professionals manage risk

This is trading intelligence grounded in market reality.

Financial Media

Major financial outlets use ORATS when they need to explain what the options market is signaling. Reporters choose ORATS because our numbers are clean, consistent, and reflect actual market behavior. When readers see implied earnings moves or volatility context in the news, the source is often ORATS.

Institutional Trading Desks

Banks, hedge funds, and proprietary trading firms license ORATS data because it meets institutional standards.

Key advantages include:

• High accuracy from our Smooth Market Volatility process

• Eighteen years of history with minute-level intraday data

• Proprietary indicators for volatility, earnings, and term structure

• Reliable APIs that can support enterprise workloads

For desks that hedge, price, and model risk at scale, accuracy is not optional.

Quantitative Researchers

Quant teams use ORATS data to publish research, build forecasting systems, and design trading models. Academic papers and industry white papers regularly cite ORATS because the depth and consistency of our data supports reliable analysis.

Options Educators

Educators and professional coaches use ORATS tools in their teaching because they represent industry standards rather than simplified retail approximations.

1. Smooth Market Volatility (SMV)

Most providers report raw quotes or use basic Black-Scholes calculations. ORATS uses a proprietary SMV approach that:

• Resolves put call parity violations

• Smooths the volatility surface

• Accounts for dividends, rates, and borrow costs

• Produces values aligned with executable prices

This level of accuracy is why institutional traders trust our Greeks and theoretical values.

2. Ex-Earnings Volatility

Earnings distort traditional IV. ORATS created ex-earnings volatility to solve that problem.

We calculate:

• IV with earnings effects removed

• Historical volatility without earnings-day moves

• The isolated earnings effect itself

This allows true apples-to-apples comparisons across stocks and time periods.

3. Forward Volatility

ORATS pioneered forward volatility metrics for traders who need to understand what future periods are pricing.

We provide:

• Forward vol levels for multiple ranges

• Ratios that highlight mispricings

• Ex-earnings forward vol for cleaner signals

These metrics are essential for calendar traders and volatility arbitrage.

4. Component-Weighted Index Data

Our component-weighted indices show how the average stock in an index is trading, not just the aggregated index level. This includes SPX, NDX, QQQ, XLK, and more than thirty sector composites.

5. Earnings Intelligence

Our earnings dataset tracks:

• Twelve quarters of historical earnings dates

• Actual moves

• Implied moves

• Earnings effects on volatility

This fuels research and forecasting models used by institutional desks.

6. Three Hundred Million Backtests

The Backtest Finder has run hundreds of millions of strategy backtests across eighteen years of data. Traders get instant access to the results of large-scale research that would take years to replicate.

Financial journalists rely on ORATS during major market events. Our commentary and analytics appear in stories about volatility spikes, options activity, earnings reactions, and structural changes in the market. Reporters contact ORATS because they know the data reflects what is actually happening in the options market.

Institutional-grade tools are available inside the ORATS Dashboard. Traders gain:

• Confidence in the numbers behind their decisions

• Access to institutional analytics without institutional costs

• Clear insights into what volatility and earnings are pricing

• Education that reflects professional trading standards

You work with the same intelligence used by high-level professionals.

Institutions choose ORATS because the foundation is strong.

• Founder credibility from real floor trading

• Rigorous methodology

• Consistent historical depth

• Continuous innovation

• Reliable APIs

• Expert support

Accuracy is the priority. Reliability earns trust.

Every ORATS indicator began as a solution to a practical trading challenge. When traders consistently paid more for low-priced options than theoretical models suggested, we created Rip Value. When volatility comparisons broke down around earnings, we developed ex-earnings volatility. When term structure signals were unclear, we created forward volatility metrics.

The mission has always been the same: solve real trading problems with data and models that stand up to professional scrutiny.

When you use ORATS, you are using the same data and analytics trusted by major financial institutions, media outlets, and professional traders. This is not marketing language. It is observable across published research, news coverage, and institutional workflows.

Accurate data creates better decisions. ORATS delivers that accuracy.

Trading is a competition against firms with large budgets, dedicated research teams, and advanced data systems. ORATS gives you access to the same level of intelligence.

Better data. Better models. Better decisions.