2017

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 31, 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.

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

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

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

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?

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

- 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.

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

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

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

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)

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.

Volatility and Leveraged instruments to Lazily beat the markets (Part 3)

In the first part of this series we examined the viability of investing in triple leveraged SPX via UPRO. With the potential to triple the market's returns comes added risk (larger draw-downs) and hence the idea of using UPRO in only a portion of the account. 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, which unlike UPRO, 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.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (November 25, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated a small Dec29 RUT 1590/1600 Credit Call spread for 0.90 credit ($450) on Tuesday.

- Closed Dec29 RUT 1330/1320 Credit Put spreads for a small $225 gain on Tuesday. Initiated a 1420/1410 Credit Put spread ($335) credit. So, basically I just rolled the old Put spread up, locking some gains in the process. The Dec29 RUT position is now a balanced 1410/1420/1590/1600 Iron Condor. It is a small position made up of only 5 vertical spreads on each side. So, one quarter the usual size.

- Initiated the first position of 2018: a January SPX 2440/2450/2685/2690 Unbalanced Iron Condor. Four to one ratio of Puts to Call and a net credit of $1700.

- It was not possible to close the December SPX 2635/2640 Credit call spreads for the 0.30 debit I wanted to lock in a small winner and forget about it.

January 2018 SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor

Trade Details:

20 January SPX 2440/2450 Credit Put spreads @0.65 Credit ($1300)
5 January SPX 2685/2695 Credit Call spreads @0.80 Credit ($400)

Net Credit: $1,700
Days to Expiration:58

Volatility and Leveraged instruments to Lazily beat the markets (Part 2)

In the first part of this series we examined the viability of investing in triple leveraged SPX via UPRO. With the potential to triple the market's returns comes added risk (larger draw-downs) and hence the idea of using UPRO in only a portion of the account. 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). It also did so while scoring a respectable 1.68 ratio of Average Annual Return to Standard Deviation of Returns (a simplified version of Sharpe).

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (November 18, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated a RUT Dec29 1330/1320 Credit Put Spread position for $300 Credit on Wednesday. It was a very short lived oversold condition. I tweeted out the trade entry live as usual. You can follow me on Twitter through this link if you like.

- NOV SPX 2315/2325 Credit Put spread expired for max gains +$1,000.

- NOV SPX 2425/2420 Credit Put spread expired for max gains +$250.

- NOV RUT 1380/1390/1580/1590 Unbalanced Iron Condor expired for max gains +$1,555

December29 RUT Bull Put spread

Trade details:

SELL 5 Dec29 RUT 1330/1320 Credit Put spread

Net Credit: 0.60 per spread ($300 total)
Days to expiration: 45

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (November 12, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- No activity.

Volatility and Leveraged instruments to Lazily beat the markets (Part 1)

For a while now I've been studying leveraged instruments with the idea of finding simple ways to obtain better returns than the market, and to, of course, achieve it in a lazy way.

The easiest way is to obviously own a double leveraged S&P500 ETF such as SSO, which attempts to produce twice the daily return of the S&Ps. Even more aggressive is UPRO, which is triple leveraged.

If things go well and the index rallies, you will instantly have superior returns. Of course, during down days you will also get multiplied pain. No free lunches, as usual.

Options Trading Monthly Digest (October, 2017)

Time to reflect Options trading results for the month of October. For the reasons explained here, the focus of these articles will now be the positions whose expiration date took place during the month (as opposed to positions that were closed throughout 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 (November 4, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated a December RUT Unbalanced Iron Condor on Thursday for a $1,600 credit.

December RUT Unbalanced Iron Condor

Trade Details:

20 December RUT 1380/1370 Credit Put spreads @0.57 Credit ($1140)
5 December RUT 1570/1580 Credit Call spreads @0.92 Credit ($460)

Net Credit: $1,600
Days to Expiration: 43

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (October 28, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity. Despite the small price decline, we almost reached an oversold condition, which would have triggered a December RUT Credit Put spread. The McClellan oscillator reached oversold territory on Wednesday and the Stochastics indicator was almost there. However, the % of stocks trading above their 20-day Moving Average remained in the 40's. Seems like a lost opportunity in retrospective but time has taught me to follow the rules and be disciplined.

Weekend Portfolio (October 21, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated an December SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor position on Thursday for $1,500 credit.

- Put side of October RUT Elephant expired for max on Friday. A $1,100 gain.

- Put side of October SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor expired for max on Friday. A $952 gain.

December SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor

Trade Details:

20 December SPX 2400/2390 Credit Put spreads @0.50 Credit ($1000)
10 December SPX 2635/2640 Credit Call spreads @0.50 Credit ($500)

Net Credit: $1,500
Days to Expiration: 57

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (October 14, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed November SPX 2575/2585 Call side of Unbalanced Iron Condor on Tuesday. A $1,125 loss.

Some House Cleaning

When I started to track the results of Option trades on this site, I did so by reflecting each position according to their Expiration cycle, not based on when the position was closed.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (October 8, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated a November RUT Unbalanced Iron Condor position on Tuesday for a net credit of $1,555. As explained in the previous weekend analysis, under the current circumstances, the Unbalanced IC seemed more advantageous than the typical Elephant I usually deploy as the second income position of a month.

- Initiated a small November SPX 2425/2420 Credit Put spread on Thursday. New credit collected of $250. The idea is to mitigate potential losses on the Call side of the November SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor.

Last week I also mentioned the possibility of adding either an October RUT or SPX Credit Call spread to complete Unbalanced Iron Condor with existing October Put spreads but the credits were terrible and not at all attractive. The markets did not reach an overbought extreme either, which decreased my confidence in deploying such spreads.

November RUT Unbalanced Iron Condor

As explained over the weekend, going with an Unbalanced Iron Condor instead of an Unbalanced Elephant this time with RUT

Trade Details:

20 November RUT 1390/1380 Credit Put spreads 0.53 Credit ($1060)
5 November RUT 1580/1590 Credit Call spreads 0.99 Credit ($495)

Net Credit: $1,555
Days to Expiration: 44

Options Trading Monthly Digest (September, 2017)

Time to reflect Options trading results for the month of September. This update includes positions that were closed throughout the month and the Year To Date balances of each Options Trading Strategy.

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 (September 30, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed Call side of October RUT/IWM Unbalanced Elephant on Monday at a $400 loss. The Put side is still in play and should yield maximum profit, turning this Elephant into a small winner in the end.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (September 23, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed 2540/2545 Call side of October SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor for a $440 loss on Monday.

- Closed December SPY 253 Long Calls for a $462 gain on Monday.

- Initiated a 2315/2325/2575/2585 November SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor for a $1,500 credit on Thursday.

November SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor

Trade Details:

20 November SPX 2325/2315 Credit Put spreads 0.50 Credit ($1000)
5 November SPX 2575/2585 Credit Call spreads 1.00 Credit ($500)

Net Credit: $1,500
Days to Expiration: 57

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (September 16, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- The remainder of the September RUT Elephant reached expiration on Friday for a net $840 gain.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (September 9, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated an October RUT 1270/1280/1470/1480/130/148 Unbalanced Elephant for a $1,317 credit on Thursday.

October 2017 RUT Unbalanced Elephant

Trade Details:

20 RUT 1280/1270 Credit Put spreads 0.55 Credit ($1100)
7 RUT 1470/1480 Credit Call spreads 0.95 Credit ($665)

plus

2/50 IWM Unbalanced Long Strangle. Strike prices 130/148
0.74 debit for each of the 130 strike Puts
0.06 debit for each of the 148 strike Calls.
Total debit paid: $448

Net Credit: $1317
Days to Expiration: 43

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (September 2, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed October RUT 1200/1190 Credit Put spread for a $500 gain on Monday.

- Closed September SPX 2310/2300 Credit Put spread for a $900 gain on Thursday.

Options Trading Monthly Digest (August, 2017)

Time to reflect Options trading results for the month of August. This update includes positions that were closed throughout the month and the Year To Date balances of each Options Trading Strategy.

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 (August 26, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated an SPX - October 2250/2260/2540/2545 Unbalanced Iron Condor on Friday for a total credit of $1,500.

October 2017 SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor

Trade Details:

20 October SPX 2260/2250 Credit Put spreads 0.55 Credit ($1100)
8 October SPX 2540/2545 Credit Call spreads 0.50 Credit ($400)

Net Credit: $1,500
Days to Expiration: 56

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 19, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- August RUT Unbalanced Elephant expired for max profit of +$1,418 on Friday.

- Closed Put side of September RUT Unbalanced Elephant at a loss on Friday. The loss was partially hedged by gains from the long IWM Puts. Net-net it was a $2,748 loss.

- A new 1250/1240 Credit Put spread was deployed in the same RUT as an adjustment, using the same September expiration cycle. Credit Collected: $1,200.

- Closed Credit Call spread of September RUT Unbalanced Elephant for a +$570 gain. Left the IWM Long Calls in. Closing the IWM long Calls would not have made sense as they are almost worthless. Whatever value is left to save (0.01) would be eaten by commissions).

- Purchased December SPY 253 strike price Calls. Small speculative play betting on a rebound. Four months for this play to work. It's a low probability move sure, but it can bring juicy returns if the market rallies before year end.

It was a somewhat unfortunate week with that first loss on Elephant positions. It was a good run of 12 consecutive Elephant winners (4 last year and 8 this year). All the activity was concentrated on Friday. The first half of the week was navigated without damages and I thought that would be it. Then Thursday surprised with more weakness and then some more on Friday morning. Despite the loss on the September Elephant, the other two wins mitigated the damage and overall the portfolio lost only $760 for the week (before commissions), less than 1% of the portfolio. More importantly, current positions look safe and that should be enough to eventually recover from this small setback.

Long December SPY Calls

Bought 3 December $SPY 253 Calls.
Small lotto ticket.
1.50 debit each.
— The Lazy Trader (@lazytrading) August 18, 2017

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 13, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated a September RUT Unbalanced Elephant for a total credit of $1,393 on Tuesday. Not great timing as the Russell reached an oversold condition just a few hours later.

- Initiated an October RUT Credit Put spread position for $1,200 credit on Thursday after the market reached the first oversold condition of the year. I didn't mention this idea during the Weekend Analysis because we've been conditioned to not expect oversold environments for so long. But, basically, every time there is an oversold extreme, I will initiate a Credit Put spread.

- Closed SPX 2550/2560 Credit Call spread side of the September Unbalanced Iron Condor for a $350 profit on Friday. This was the result of a GTC (Good Till Canceled order) I had for 0.10 debit per spread. It got triggered while I was away from the PC.

October 2017 RUT Credit Put Spread

Trade Details:

SELL 20 October RUT 1200 Put @7.20
BUY 20 October RUT 1190 Put @6.60

Net Credit: 0.60 ($1,200)
Days to Expiration: 70

September 2017 RUT Unbalanced Elephant

Trade Details:

20 RUT 1320/1310 Credit Put spreads 0.60 Credit ($1200)
15 RUT 1475/1480 Credit Call spreads 0.45 Credit ($675)

plus

2/20 IWM Unbalanced Long Strangle. Strike prices 133/148
0.61 debit for each of the 133 strike Puts
0.18 debit for each of the 148 strike Calls.
Total debit paid: $482

Net Credit: $1393
Days to Expiration: 38

A little later than usual. Probably the narrowest of all Elephants I've ever played.
Elephants remain unbeaten (11 for 11) since inception (4 trades last year and 7 trades closed this year so far)

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 5, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed the August SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor on Wednesday for a $1,225 gain.

Options Trading Monthly Digest (July, 2017)

Time to reflect Options trading results for the month of July. This update includes positions that were closed throughout the month and the Year To Date balances of each Options Trading Strategy.

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 (July 29, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (July 22, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated a September SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor position on Thursday. Net Credit $1,500. All the details here. Just a 4:1 ratio of Puts to Call as the upside is within the long-term uptrend channel.

- The July RUT Unbalanced Lazy Elephant expired for max profits: $1,417.

September 2017 SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor

Trade Details:

20 September SPX 2310/2300 Credit Put spreads 0.55 Credit ($1100)
5 September SPX 2550/2560 Credit Call spreads 0.80 Credit ($400)

Net Credit: $1,500
Days to Expiration: 57

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (July 15, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (July 8, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed the July SPX 2260/2250 Credit Put spread (remainder of an Unbalanced Iron Condor) on Monday for a $1,000 profit.

- Initiated an August RUT Unbalanced Lazy Elephant on Friday for a net credit of $1,418.

August 2017 RUT Unbalanced Elephant

Trade Details:

20 RUT 1300/1290 Credit Put spreads 0.60 Credit ($1200)
9 RUT 1490/1500 Credit Call spreads 0.80 Credit ($720)

plus

2/25 IWM Unbalanced Long Strangle. Strike prices 132/150
0.76 debit for each of the 132 strike Puts
0.14 debit for each of the 150 strike Calls.
Total debit paid: $502 )

Net Credit: $1418
Days to Expiration: 42

VIX at 11.60 and the heart of the summer. This is going to be an interesting trade.

Options Trading Monthly Digest (June, 2017)

Time to reflect Options trading results for the month of June. This update includes positions that were closed throughout the month and the Year To Date balances of each Options Trading Strategy.

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 (July 1, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed the Call side of the July SPX 2250/2260/2490/2500 Unbalanced Iron Condor on Thursday for a small $140 gain. It was more of a risk management move than a profit taking one. The Call side of this position made me uncomfortable for a while and as planned over the weekend, I would close it provided a positive monetary balanced could be extracted out of it. Looking now at the fact that we will almost have 4 full days of time decay (Saturday + Sunday + Monday with markets open only for half a session and then Tuesday with markets closed for Independence Day). I should have considered leaving the whole position on and then re-assessing on Wednesday morning, with much more premium in my favor. So, that could have been a small mistake there, but on the other hand I feel comfortable now to have put this behind. The SPY 249 strike Call options that had been purchased as upside hedge were also taken off the table.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (June 24, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated an August SPX 2260/2270/2520/2530 Unbalanced Iron Condor on Thursday. Net Credit $1,500. The reason for the small total credit is that the position was initiated with only a 4 to 1 ratio of Put spreads to Call spreads. The adjustment point on the Call side for this position, initially would have been SPX 2,480. That number, as you know, moves up over time. But initially, that is roughly the SPX spot at which the short 2520 Calls would be reaching 30 deltas and triggering my adjustment decision. Well, SPX 2,480 happens to be uncomfortably close to the SPX 2,475 that I have established as the defense line for the July SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor. By playing a 4:1 ratio with the August position, the Call side adjustment can be delayed much further (~45 deltas, instead of 30). Up to around SPX 2,515. This provides us with better risk diversification across the spectrum of SPX prices.

August 2017 SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor

Trade Details:

20 SPX 2270/2260 Credit Put spreads 0.55 Credit ($1100)
5 SPX 2520/2530 Credit Call spreads 0.80 Credit ($400)

Net Credit: $1,500
Days to Expiration: 57

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (June 17, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Credit Put spreads (2250/2240) side of June SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor expired for max profit (+$1,140). Long SPY Put hedge expired worthless (-$98). Net-net it was a $1,042 profit. The June SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor is now entirely gone.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (June 10, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Purchased July SPX 249 Calls as upside hedge for existing July SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor on Tuesday. A debit was invested here that eats into the overall profitability of the Unbalanced IC, but only partially. There is still money to make here and the upside hedge allows me to sleep better at night. More on this position in a few minutes.

- Initiated a July RUT Unbalanced Lazy Elephant on Friday for a net credit of $1,417. This is the second position deployed in the July cycle, and last one unless we get an oversold condition.

July 2017 RUT Unbalanced Elephant

Trade Details:

20 RUT 1310/1320 Credit Put spreads 0.60 Credit ($1200)
8 RUT 1500/1510 Credit Call spreads 0.90 Credit ($720)

plus

2/19 IWM 134/151 Unbalanced Long Strangle (.71 debit for the 134 strike Puts, .19 debit for the 151 strike Calls. Total debit paid: $503 )

Net Credit: $1417
Days to Expiration: 42

VIX at 9.50. This is going to be an interesting trade.

Options Trading Monthly Digest (May, 2017)

Time to reflect Options trading results for the month of May. This update includes positions that were closed throughout the month and the Year To Date balances of each Options Trading Strategy.

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 (June 3, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed the 2465/2475 Call side of the June SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor for a small $180 gain on Monday. As planned over the weekend, this was a spread that needed to be closed simply due to risk concentration in the portfolio. It proved to be the right move.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 27, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed Put side of June RUT Elephant for a $954 gain on Friday. The entire June RUT Elephant is now closed. The idea of closing this one was not mentioned in the previous Weekend Portfolio Analysis. I just decided to reduce downside exposure (as crazy as it sounds nowadays) and readers still have a long weekend in the middle. If anything, by the time the markets open on Tuesday it should be even easier to get filled at perhaps better debits that what I paid given the extra days of time decay. Otherwise, holding this one to expiration should not be a big deal as it looks far (RUT 1230).

- Initiated a July SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor position on Friday for a net $2,150 credit. First position in the July regular expiration cycle.

July 2017 SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor

Trade Details:

20 SPX 2260/2250 Credit Put spreads 0.60 Credit ($1200)
10 SPX 2490/2500 Credit Call spreads 0.95 Credit ($950)

Net Credit: $2,150
Days to Expiration: 56

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 20, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Put side of May RUT Elephant expired for max profit of $1,092

- Tried to close the 2465/2475 Call side of the June SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor, but didn't get filled. I tried 0.10 debit, then 0.15 then 0.20 as the market kept rebounding until I stopped trying on Friday.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 13, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed Call side of June RUT/IWM Lazy Elephant on Monday for tiny gains $73. The idea was, or is, to be able to deploy at higher strike prices given the early heat I took in this position and the fact that for so long the market has been bought on every little dip. Now, of course that is not being mechanical, and in retrospective it looks like it was not the right choice. We won't always make the right ones, but being fairly risk averse and choosing defense over offense on the Call side is never a terribly bad decision.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 6, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed SPX/SPY - May 2150/2160/2440/2450/221/245 Unbalanced Elephant for a $1,090 gain. The Put side looked safe enough and could have been left on, but I just decided to reduce quadruple downside exposure in the portfolio that came with the addition of a new June position.

- Initiated SPX - Jun 2240/2250/2465/2475 Unbalanced Iron Condor. Very conservative on the Call side, using a 4 to 1 ratio of Puts to Calls. Given how low volatility is, adjustment points feel close and would be very uncomfortable to defend. Net Credit only $1,447 but I definitely prefer this very conservative Call side.

June 2017 SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor

Trade Details:

20 SPX 2250/2240 Credit Put spreads 0.57 Credit ($1140)
5 SPX 2465/2475 Credit Call spreads 0.81 Credit ($405)

Due to the sub 11 VIX, I also added a small long SPY Put

1 SPY 228 Put 0.98 debit ($98)

Net Credit: $1,447
Days to Expiration: 43

Very conservative on the Call side because everything is so close with the low volatility levels, that, well, I don't want to have to lament anything, especially if the market suddenly breaks out.

Time to reflect Options trading results for the month of April. This update includes positions that were closed throughout the month and the Year To Date balances of each Options Trading Strategy.

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 (April 29, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed Call side of May RUT Elephant at a $716 loss on Tuesday. A bit frustrating yes, but the Put side is still in play and now at only 2 deltas and with a credit that is greater than this initial loss from the Call side. So, in the end the position will be a winner overall, just a smaller one than we would have liked.

Weekend Portfolio Anaysis (April 22, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- April SPX Credit Put spread expires for max gain of $960. This was part of an Iron Condor whose Call side had been closed a while ago. The entire history of the Iron Condor position is here.

- April RUT Unbalanced Lazy Elephant expires for max profit of $1,396. We never had any trouble with this position.

- Initiated a June RUT Unbalanced Lazy Elephant. As explained in the previous Weekend Analysis, I would go with Elephant instead of Condor if the indexes were not more than 1% higher than their 50-day average.

June 2017 RUT Unbalanced Elephant

Trade Details:

20 RUT 1220/1230 Credit Put spreads 0.66 Credit ($1320)
8 RUT 1470/1480 Credit Call spreads 0.92 Credit ($736)

plus

2/15 IWM 126/148 Unbalanced Long Strangle (.95 debit for the 126 strike Puts, .24 debit for the 148 strike Calls. Total debit paid: $550 )

Net Credit: $1506
Days to Expiration: 56

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (April 15, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity. I tried to close the April RUT Unbalanced Elephant on Wednesday and Thursday but my closing orders never got filled. Knowing the low odds of being filled on the Call side, I decided to just try to close the Credit Put spread on Thursday, with the intent of leaving the Call side untouched as it is not a concern at all. So, I tried the Credit Put spread at 0.10 debit, no luck. Then 0.15 debit, nop. Nothing. I didn't want to sacrifice any more premium than that. I would have probably gotten filled had I tried 0.20 debit, but then I remembered we had a three-day weekend right ahead of us to strengthen the position even more via time decay and I decided to not rush it.

How has your trading style changed? Is there still potential for a +30% year?

I'm looking at your results in the previous years and am amazed by the impressive results in 2012, especially compared to those in later years. In terms of SP500, 2012 is also a good year, but isn't the best year (2013 has a significantly higher return). I'm curious to know how your strategies have changed from 2012 to today. Is it that you took on more risks in 2012 by committing more percentage of capital and/or staying closer to the money? Or is it just that the market condition was quite special in 2012 compared to other years (for example, no sudden rally or sell-off)? Or maybe something else? Basically, are the results from 2012 possible to replicate? - Jordan

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (April 8, 2017)

Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated a May RUT Unbalanced Elephant on Monday. Net credit $1,416. All the details here. In the previous weekend analysis, the plan was to use an Unbalanced Iron Condor and yet I ended up playing an Elephant (the second one with May expiration options). I simply fear a rally. Yes, this is "personal bias" influencing my decisions and not being totally mechanical. I get that. But I think it is unavoidable after seeing rallies out of nothing, hurting us for so long. Because RUT is below its 50-day average, it has a lot of room to run. Playing the Elephant provides less credit (Could have obtained $2,200-$2,400 for the Unbalanced Iron Condor), but it is in exchange for upside peace of mind in that, we will have a winning position if the market rallies beyond what anyone expects, while the downside loss is similar to that of the Unbalanced Iron Condor. SPX was above its 50-day. I could have gone with an SPX Unbalanced Iron Condor, to stay loyal to the ideal of "one Unbalanced Iron Condor and one Unbalanced Elephant per month" (Read 2017 Trading Plan here), but the strike prices of choice would have added too much risk concentration in similar spots to those of the existing May SPX Elephant that was initiated almost two weeks ago. So, I definitely wanted to go with RUT.

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