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BookingAlpha Option Trading Advisory

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 31, 2017)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2017-12-31).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available: Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 23, 2017) 
The 2018 Options Trading Plan is now available at LTOptions. If the link doesn't work, simply log in to LTOptions.com and you'll see it right after logging in.


Recent Trading Activity

- Dec29 RUT Iron Condor expired for a $785 gain on Friday. This is the last 2017 position. Our performance for the year was +20.27% for the overall Portfolio. I will be writing a separate article on my thoughts and reflections which will be published over the next few days.

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 23, 2017)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2017-12-23).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2017 Track Record page and the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available: Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 16, 2017) 
The 2018 Options Trading Plan is now available at LTOptions. If the link doesn't work, simply log in to LTOptions.com and you'll see it right after logging in.


Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated a February SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor on Thursday. Net credit received $1900.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

February 2018 SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor

Trade Details:

40 February SPX 2520/2525 Credit Put spreads  @0.25 Credit ($1000)
20 February SPX 2780/2785 Credit Call spreads @0.45 Credit ($900)

Net Credit: $1,900
Days to Expiration: 57

Monday, December 18, 2017

Volatility and Leveraged instruments to Lazily beat the markets (Part 4)

In the first part of this series we examined the viability of investing in triple leveraged SPX via UPRO, combined with bonds. We saw the viability of a simple combination of one third of an account holding UPRO (basically attempting to match the markets returns on the whole) combined with another instrument with a historical upside bias such as Bonds (TLT) which, additionally offers hedging potential as it generally moves up in times of crises (UPRO going down) easily beat the market (18.17% annual return vs 13.37% SPY) since 2011.

In the second part of the series we looked at short volatility instruments, such as XIV and ZIV. Unlike UPRO, they tend to go up when the market is going sideways. Combinations of either XIV or ZIV with bonds easily beat the markets too, but it was a pretty volatile ride, especially for XIV, which I personally prefer to not be invested in.

In the third part of the series, we analyzed the combinations of Triple leveraged S&Ps, Short Volatility and Triple Leveraged bonds. All in the same portfolio. The results looked attractive, in the 20% to 35% annual return range with better return to risk ratios than simply holding the SPX Index via SPY even with its dividends and all.

The question remains though: How would these portfolios have performed during a serious market correction? Back in 2008 these instruments didn't exist but common sense tells us that triple leveraged SPX (UPRO) and short Volatility (ZIV or XIV) would have suffered massive, unbearable declines. So, is this whole idea worth our time?

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 16, 2017)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2017-12-16).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2017 Track Record page and the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available: Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 9, 2017) 
The 2018 Options Trading Plan is now available at LTOptions. If the link doesn't work, simply log in to LTOptions.com and you'll see it right after logging in.


Recent Trading Activity

- Closed SPX Dec 2690/2695 Credit Call spreads on Monday for a $300 gain, just as planned.

- December SPX Credit Put spreads expired on Friday. $1,250 in profits.

- December RUT Unbalanced Iron Condor expired on Friday. $1,715 in profits.

- Adjusted the Call side of the January SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor on Wednesday.
This was a $1,820 loss that will be reflected in the January cycle.
The new position is :
20 January SPX 2440/2450 Credit Put spreads  @0.65 Credit ($1300)
10 January SPX 2475/2480 Credit Put spreads  @0.30 Credit ($300)
12 January SPX 2745/2750 Credit Call spreads @0.45 Credit ($540)
With enough credit to overcome the loss.

Saturday, December 9, 2017

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 9, 2017)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2017-12-09).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2017 Track Record page and the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available: Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 2, 2017) 
The 2018 Options Trading Plan is now available at LTOptions. If the link doesn't work, simply log in to LTOptions.com and you'll see it right after logging in.


Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated a January RUT/IWM Unbalanced Lazy Elephant on Thursday. Net credit: $1,448.


Thursday, December 7, 2017

January 2018 RUT Unbalanced Elephant

Trade Details:

20 RUT 1390/1380 Credit Put  spreads 0.55 Credit ($1100)
13 RUT 1605/1610 Credit Call spreads 0.46 Credit ($598)

plus

10 IWM Long 161 Calls @0.25 (-$250)
I didn't add the Long Puts in this case

Net Credit: $1448
Days to Expiration: 43

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Options Trading Monthly Digest (November, 2017)

Time to reflect Options trading results for the month of November. We'll be taking a look at the  results of positions whose expiration date took place during the month.

Hopefully these monthly updates will provide readers with confidence and serve as an authentic guide of what can be achieved with a realistic and sustainable approach to the business of Selling Options.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 2, 2017)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2017-12-02).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2017 Track Record page and the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available: Weekend Portfolio Analysis (November 25, 2017) 
The 2018 Options Trading Plan is now available at LTOptions. If the link doesn't work, simply log in to LTOptions.com and you'll see it right after logging in.


Recent Trading Activity

- Closed Dec SPX 2635/2640 Credit Call spreads at a $400 loss on Monday.

- Initiated small Dec SPX 2525/2520 Credit Put spreads on Monday for $250 credit to partially mitigate the Call side loss.

- Purchased Dec IWM 157 Calls ($225 debit), financed by the Sale of a small RUT 1450/1445 Credit Put spread position ($340 credit) on Monday. This maneuver was in order to protect the December RUT 1370/1380/1570/1580 Unbalanced Iron Condor.

- Initiated a small Dec SPX 2690/2695 Credit Call spread position on Thursday for $500 credit. Re-establishing an Unbalanced Iron  Condor. Thursday was rally day at one point SPX price was 3.5% higher than the 50-day moving average. Although not all the oscillators were in overbought territory, when the SPX is so far above its 50-day average, I automatically start to think about the possibility that it will not go that much further up without some kind of rest. I only regret not having sold more Credit Call spreads in the 2720/2725 area.

- Purchased Dec SPY 269 Calls ($351 debit), partially financed by the Sale of a small SPX 2480/2475 Credit Put spread position ($300 credit) on Monday. This hedge protects the Call side of the January SPX 2440/2450/2685/2695 Unbalanced Iron Condor.