An option that allows its holder to choose between going with it as a call or as a put at a particular date. This type of exotic option gives investors flexibility of choice, and therefore is generally costlier than a vanilla option. Taking simultaneous positions in a call and a put makes the as-you-like-it option almost identical to a straddle, though it is relatively cheaper. In its simple form, it gives the holder the right to choose either a vanilla call or a vanilla put at a particular date. However, and though the complex form is almost the same, it differs from the simple form in that the exercise price and time to maturity are not identical for the call and the put involved.

This option is also known as “chooser option” or “pay-now-choose-later option“, and usually comes in two different forms: simple and complex.