Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 28, 2016)

Writing to you today from Chicago, home of the CBOE, home of the vice.

I've been here since Thursday. Very low key, using public transportation and staying at an AirBnb room. National tourism is so much more affordable in the US. Flying Miami to Chicago was only $143 after all sorts of taxes and fees. And that's a two-way ticket. There were even tickets for just $80 bucks last week. In Canada, flying from Toronto to Vancouver was $1,200 to $2,000. Those communist bastards.

The city of Chicago has been impressive. And yeah, I know, locals are probably sick of it, relatively high crime rates, and I bet there is someone, somewhere right now writing an article about "Why Chicago sucks". BS. Chicago is a magnificent city and it ranks very high up there in my personal taste. No offense, here's my ranking:

1- Chicago
2- Toronto
3- Miami (perfect weather + silicone implants)
4- New York City (Yes, too crowded and overwhelming for me)
5- Montreal
6- Ottawa (Ottawa sucks big time)
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99 - Havana (makes Ottawa look like paradise)

But wait. This is not LT's touristic aspirations?! This is not The-Lazy-Tourist!?
After that lengthy, Kardashianesque introduction, let's get our market fix, shall we? Let's get to our addiction.

July SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor

Today I initiated a July unbalanced Iron Condor on SPX

Initiated an $SPX July 1890/1900/2175/2185 Unbalanced Iron Condor. 2:1 ratio. 1.10 credit from Calls, 0.55 from Puts.

— The Lazy Trader (@lazytrading) May 25, 2016

The Numbers Don't Lie

If you have been trading for a while, for sure you have heard that most traders under-perform, including the so called professionals, the big funds, the "smart money". As it turns out, I had nothing better to do and decided to take a look at how some of those pools of institutional money performed in 2015 when all was said and done. Sorry to disappoint, nothing new to reveal.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 21, 2016)

The S&P was up a little this week, putting an end to the streak of three consecutive weeks lower. The index is now up 0.41% for the year.

In order to make better trades, let's now deeply analyze what the Fed plans to do in 2016 and how their actions will impact the markets. Let's not stop there, let's analyze how the Chinese Economy will behave, and also how the Saudi's will save the Oil markets going forward...............

I truly expect you knew deep inside I was absolutely not going to get into any of that nonsensical gibberish.

June SPX Credit Put Spread

Just as planned over the weekend, today I initiated a June Credit Put spread position using SPX options.

Sold $SPX June 1875/1865 Credit Put spread. 0.60 credit.

— The Lazy Trader (@lazytrading) May 19, 2016

September Portfolio Insurance play

Bought September $SPX 1825/1800 Debit Put spread (3.00 debit) x 2. Sold 1625/1600 Credit Put spread (1.10 credit) x 4. 2:4 ratio

— The Lazy Trader (@lazytrading) May 16, 2016

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 14, 2016)

The S&P fell for the third consecutive week and it is now up only 0.13% for the year. It was an unusually active week for your pal LT where we had a chance to clear out inventory, leaving the portfolio positive for the year and with very little exposure left at the moment. You guys know I have been waiting for months to turn the year around, and also know I have been unusually bearish for a while, which is pretty uncommon for a guy who rarely ever has a bias and tries to be 100% mechanical.

It feels good to finally be positive for the year and have this opportunity now, almost with no inventory, to counter-attack after so many punches and dodged bullets. The portfolio was never down more than 3.5% all this time, but it has certainly been a struggle to get out of this shallow yet extended draw-down.

The S&P500 is now at the same level that it was during mid November of 2014. Yeap. 18 sweet months going nowhere.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 8, 2016)

The S&P fell a little bit more this past week and it is now up only 0.65% for the year. Today is Mother's Day. I'll go on a Social Media diet as there will be nothing relevant to see until tomorrow. Instead, I'll focus on meeting with Mom and Sister. I'll hug them, kiss them and tell them how I'm killing it with Options. Enough with the ramble.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 1, 2016)

It was a certainty that the market would keep going up, especially during FOMC week, wasn't it? Ah, the market and its funny ways. It ended up down more than 1% for the week, not the end of the world, but it almost feels like it after so long. Year to date, the S&P500 is now up 1.05%