About Us

Our Story: optionMONSTER® provides stock market insight, option trade ideas, and options education to meet the needs of do-it-yourself investors. After spending decades in the trading pits of Chicago, Jon 'DRJ' and Pete Najarian founded the company in 2006 because they want to make people better traders. In 2008, we launched tradeMONSTER™, an online brokerage featuring professional tools and trade execution.

Free Content: We'll provide free options news, education, and webinars if you give us your email. Fair trade?

Premium Services: Trade ideas are delivered in real-time via email and private blog. From calls to condors, we've got premium services to fit all experience levels.

Seminars: Our Invest Like a Monster conferences provide an intimate environment for sharpening your trading skills. The Najarians offer these educational events throughout the country.

Still have questions? Read our Frequently Asked Questions here.

Meet the Team

Jon 'DRJ' Najarian is co-founder of optionMONSTER® and co-lead analyst for the InsideOptions™ trade idea alert systems. He spent the first 29 years of his trading career trading in and around the pits of the Chicago exchanges. Jon is a frequent contributor to CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, and other prominent financial media organizations. Mr. Najarian also co-developed the patented trading algorithm the Heat Seeker®, used to detect unusual trading activity.

Pete Najarian is co-founder of optionMONSTER® co-lead analyst for the InsideOptions™ trade idea alert system. After multiple years as an NFL linebacker, Pete worked with his older brother Jon in the Chicago exchanges. Nicknamed "Pitboss", he served as president of market making firm Mercury Trading before executing a sale to the hedge fund Citadel in 2004. Mr. Najarian co-developed the Heat Seeker®, and uses it as part of the analysis for producing the InsideOptions™ alerts.

Guy Adami is an analyst and contributor of optionMONSTER® content. Guy began his career at the famed investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert trading energy and metals, before joining Goldman Sachs in 1996 to help lead up their US equities basic materials group. It was there that he worked for legendary names including Gary Cohn and current CEO Lloyd Blankfein. Mr. Adami is an original cast member of CNBC's trading show Fast Money.

Chris McKhann is an analyst and writer for optionMONSTER®, including Open Order and InsideOptions™. Chris began his career as a broker, and before joining our team he was a senior instructor of education and derivatives product manager at a large online investment house. He has taught options trading in a variety of venues including his weekly webinar "Options Trading Academy". Mr. McKhann is a noted expert in volatility and its effect on the various options pricing models.

David Russell is an analyst and reporter for optionMONSTER®, including InsideOptions™. Previously he was a producer for CNBC and a contributor to its online site. Before that, he spent more than five years at Bloomberg News covering the debt and equity markets. Before starting a career in the financial world, Mr. Russell served as a Marine Corps reservist in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Fahad Khalid is an analyst and writer for optionMONSTER®'s Open Order service. After leaving Michigan State with a master's degree in accounting, Fahad began his career at Deloitte and Touche. He also has extensive experience providing turnaround and restructuring services to financially distressed firms while at Alvarez and Marsal. For the past 4 years Mr. Khalid has been a full time professional trader, favoring positive carry trades and volatility skews.

Ron Ianieri is an analyst and writer for optionMONSTER®s Income Strategist service. Ron began his career on the floor of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange with Cooper, Neff and Associates. He has worked as both a market maker and a specialist, working with both Equity Options and FX Options. While working on the exchange floor, he developed and taught an Option Trader Trainee Course. In 2010, he started his own company, Ion Options, where he teaches this course to individual investors.

Mike Bourdos is account executive extraordinaire for optionMONSTER®. Mike worked as a loan officer in the mortgage business before moving into consumer banking as a branch manager. A longtime options trader, Mike helped Jon and Pete launch the InsideOptions™ service in 2003 and is responsible for all aspects of trader support.

Mike Yamamoto is the managing editor of optionMONSTER®. He is an award-winning journalist with decades of experience in online and traditional media. Before joining our team, he was executive editor for news at CNET Networks, where he covered the Internet and the technology sector. He has also taught journalism as an adjunct professor at the American University in Washington and California State University at Northridge.

Dirk Mueller-Ingrand is co-founder and CEO of optionMONSTER® and tradeMONSTER™. With a background of more than 20 years' experience in global banking, corporate finance, and technology, Dirk has previously co-founded and/or served as chief executive of several startup companies. An active investor, he is executive chairman of LTR Ltd., a UK-based consultancy focused on the financial services industry. Dirk's career also includes representing a major activist investor in public shareholder disputes.

Bob Mandel is chief financial officer of optionMONSTER. Previously he was chief financial officer of Univa UD, where he led the company through its initial formation, fundraising, and acquisition of United Devices. He began his career at Price Waterhouse and has also worked for NAVTEQ and Unilever. Bob holds an MBA degree from the Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Iowa.

Kurt Oeler is VP and GM of optionMONSTER®. Before joining our team, Kurt was night editor and then director of editorial operations at CNET News.com, an award-winning technology news service. Mr. Oeler sits on the Advisory Board of Knowledge@Wharton, the University of Pennsylvania's business review, and keeps up with one of his favorite sports (rugby) at Gainline.us.

Joe Canas is our director of media technology at optionMONSTER®. Previously he was senior portal strategist at Genentech, where he led web initiatives for the sales and marketing organization. Joe has also created award-winning information delivery programs, portals, web applications and services for Nortel Networks, Siemens, Amdocs, and ZDNet.