Tag: options trading

The Coronavirus has become the black swan event that has materialized into worldwide hysteria. The spread of viruses globally has halted supply chains, commerce, retail, and specifically the travel and leisure sector. The Coronavirus has been the catalyst for the overall indices to drop double digits or ~13% over the course of roughly a one week period in late February. The coronavirus event induced extreme global market volatility that hasn't been seen since Q4 of 2018. This extreme volatility provided options traders with a vast landscape of stocks that possessed rich option premium pricing.

As volatility spikes and stocks sell-off, options traders can sell options and collect rich premium income in a high probability manner with a statistical edge and expected outcomes. Even better, options can be sold with defined risk while leveraging a minimal amount of capital to maximize return on investment (ROI). Whether you have a small account or a large account, a defined risk (put spread) strategy enables you to leverage a minimal amount of capital, which opens the door to trading virtually any stock on the market.

Volatility - Options Trading Edge

The Coronavirus injected volatility across the entire market throughout February and into early March. This volatility resulted in rich option premium pricing, which enabled options to be sold on a wide array of uncorrelated tickers that can be spread over various expiration dates.

Selling put spreads is a great way to leverage a minimal amount of capital while maximizing returns. A put spread is a type of options trade that risk-defines your trades and involves selling and buying an option. These types of trades maximize return on capital; often, a ~10% realized gain over the course of a month-long contract with an ~85% probability of success. The required capital is equal to the maximum loss, while the maximum gain is equal to the option premium income received. Continue reading "Capitalizing On The Coronavirus Induced Volatility" →

As 2020 unfolds and the markets continue to break through record highs, investors should heed these lofty levels. We’re in the longest bull market in history and the U.S. has started and ended a decade without a recession for the first time in history. By nearly all measures, these markets are overvalued with stretched valuations.

Deploying a put spread strategy is a great way to define your risk while leveraging a minimal amount of capital to maximize returns. Whether you have a small account or a large account, a put spread strategy is an effective way to limit risk with a high probability of success. Trading options on stocks like Expedia (EXPE), Tesla (TSLA), Ulta Beauty (ULTA), Apple (AAPL), Disney (DIS), Facebook (FB), etc., that possess such a high price per share when account balances are limited are no longer an issue with put spreads. Put spreads enable you to leverage a minimal amount of capital, which opens the door to trading virtually any stock all while defining your risk.

Over the past 13 months, ~315 trades have been made with a win rate of 86% and a premium capture of 57% across 69 different tickers. When stacked up against the S&P 500, an options strategy generated a return of 9.1% compared to the S&P 500 index which returned 3.7% over the same period. These returns demonstrate the resilience of this high probability options trading in both bear and bull markets. These results can be replicated irrespective of account size when following the fundamentals outlined below.

Put Spread and Defining Risk

Options can be used in a leveraged manner hence using small amounts of capital to trade what otherwise would require much greater capital requirements. A put spread is a type of options trade that risk-defines your trades and involves selling and buying an option. Let’s review a put spread below.

The Put Spread: Continue reading "Put Spread Options - Defining Risk and Maximizing Returns" →

2019 shaped up to be a historic year for the stock market indices. The S&P 500 posted its fourth-best annual return in over 20 years, coming in at a ~29.5% return (my options-based portfolio has generated the same returns). Only two other years have outpaced these 2019 returns. These occurred in 1995 and 1997, posting returns of 34.1% and 31.0%, respectively. 2019 was a unique year on multiple fronts, most notably because the market returns outpaced even the most bullish forecast by any Wall Street analyst. The markets roared higher in the face of impeachment proceedings, U.S.-China trade war, Federal Reserve actions, inverted yield curve, and slowing economies abroad. Furthermore, for the first time in history, the U.S. economy has started and ended a decade without a recession, with the economy expanding for a record 126 consecutive months (Figure 1).

Figure 1 – S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones all set all-time highs as 2019 came to a close. The markets are in rarified territory with stretched valuations absent of any volatility. The Santa Claus rally capped off a euphoric market, generating the best returns in over 20 years

A data-driven, options-based portfolio sells options and collects premium income in a high-probability manner to generate consistent income for steady portfolio appreciation. This strategy mitigates risk and circumvents drastic market moves and is done without predicting which way the markets will move. Options are a great way to generate superior returns with less volatility in both bear and bull market conditions over the long term. Despite my 2019 performance lagging the S&P 500, the options-based strategy has generated the same returns when factoring in the Q4 2018 market sell-off. As 2019 comes to a close, my options-based portfolio returned ~19% relative to the S&P 500 return of 29.5%. Despite the epic 2019 market, when including the market sell-off of Q4 2018, my options-based portfolio has returned 11.6% relative to the S&P 500 return of 11.2%. I was able to achieve the same market performance over the past 15 months with my current cash position at ~50% of my portfolio. Continue reading "Options-Based Portfolio: 50% Cash and Matching S&P 500 Returns" →

Impeachment proceedings, U.S.-China trade war, Federal Reserve actions, etc., dominate the headlines and move markets in lock-step. The broader indices are at all-time highs and continue to set new high after new high despite the aforementioned variables. The markets have been on a steady rise for months without much resistance, and overall volatility remains low, indicating that market participants have become overly confident and complacent. The S&P 500 has had a banner year in 2019, posting a year-to-date return of over 25% through mid-December. A “blow-off” rally may be underway at this market juncture, and locking-in portfolio gains while mitigating risk is prudent. An options-based portfolio can offer a superior method to constantly locking-in gains while mitigating risk in these frothy market conditions. Over the previous 15 months through the bear market of Q4 2018 and the bull market of 2019, an options-based portfolio has returned 11.6% compared to the S&P 500 return of 8.7%. These returns have been accomplished with an 87% win rate while having the flexibility to hold ~50% of my portfolio in cash. An options portfolio enables optimal risk mitigation and realization of profits on a continual basis, especially important during market euphoria conditions.

Protecting Market Gains

An options-based approach is much like an insurance company where you sell insurance policies and collect premium income at a level that maximizes a statistical edge to your benefit. This strategy mitigates risk and circumvents drastic market moves. Selling options and collecting premium income in a high-probability manner generates consistent income for steady portfolio appreciation in both bear and bull market conditions. This is all done without predicting which way the market will move. Primarily sticking with dividend-paying large-cap stocks across a diversity of tickers that are liquid in the options market is a great way to generate superior returns with less volatility over the long-term.

Over the past ~15 months, 349 trades have been made with a win rate of 87% and a premium capture of 58% across 70 different tickers. When stacked up against the S&P 500, the options strategy generated a return of 11.6% compared to the S&P 500 index which returned 8.7% over the same period. Options are a bet on where stocks won’t go, not where they will go, where high probability options trading thrives in both bear and bull markets (Figures 1 and 2). Continue reading "Protect Your Portfolio Gains In A Euphoric Market" →