August Ends – My Options Portfolio Continues to Push Higher – Patience Pays
September 2, 2010
August was another good month for My Options Portfolio. The portfolio gained 15.6% for the month and is now up 74.2%, or $20,392.50 since its inception back in early May 2010. You can see all the trades directly from my ThinkorSwim account on the Options Portfolio page of the website.
If you look at the trades you will notice that I had a total of 9 trades in the month of August, three of which were closing trades from late July. Of the 9, only one, was an outright loser and one was break-even, but with commissions the latter trade was indeed was a loser. The loss was -64.3%, but as you can see my position-size was calculated (roughly 6%), so the loss was minimal to My Options Portfolio as I went on to gain over 15% for the month.
In my opinion, position-sizing is the most important aspect of trading. Remember, this is a marathon and not a sprint and by limiting your exposure to any given trade, you allow yourself to absorb a losing trade without devastating your portfolio. I cannot emphasize this enough and is why I always encourage a well-thought out position-size plan before you initiate your journey into trading. Of course, everyone will have different position-size plan because everyone has a different risk-tolerance. You need to figure out just how risk-averse you are as a trader/investor and, in my opinion, once you have figured that out, you should proceed to take another step that errs on the conservative side. Believe me, it pays in the long run to start out conservative and then increase your risk rather than the reverse.
As part of my newsletter I send out real-time trade alerts that include my position-size. Of course, this is not advice, it is just to show my subscribers how I use position-size in my own account. As I stated earlier, it is up to you, the individual investor to do your due diligence and figure out what is best for your given situation. You earned this money, treat it with respect.
Anyway, I once again wanted to thank all of you who have signed up for my newsletter service. I truly appreciate the loyalty and support. Hopefully, I can provide some insight through my newsletter that will help you prosper over the long-term using options. I still have a few spots remaining and will continue to take requests that will be added to a waiting list. I have decided to limit my service to 100 subscribers. Smaller is better.
Market Commentary
As for the current state of the market, well, you have to be encouraged by the gap today and the sharp push higher if you are a bear. Yes, I said it, a bear. The push moved the market closer to a short-term overbought state. Moreover, we officially closed the gap from 8/24. However, I think the 8/11 gap still might be a push to close ($11.37), at least during this latest mini-rally. I would love to see a gap tomorrow morning, because I will certainly take a position if indeed that occurs. I am not sure I would hold it into Friday as the much-anticipated August unemployment report will certainly move the market sharply and I typically do not like to get caught up in the game of guessing the report. It is typically a futile attempt, but if the technicals are already in an extreme when the market enters such a report I will sometimes take a smaller position. We shall see soon enough. The next few days should be quite interesting.
Kindest,
Andy
Out of SPY Trade – Newsletter Service Officially Begins Monday
August 28, 2010
The rally Friday, particularly late, allowed me to get out of my SPY trade from earlier in the week. I was able to get out of both trades (two separate trades of 10 Oct 105 SPY calls) for a gain of 1.2% and 14.1%, for a total of $610. The profitable trade brings My Options Portfolio to 74.2%, or $20,392.50 since it was established in early May 2010. Check out all of my trades here. You can also view all of my trades (directly from my ThinkorSwim account, updated at the end of each month) on the Options Portfolio page of the website.
SPY Trade
Subscribers
To all of my wonderful and loyal subscribers I want to thank you for all of your support over the past week. The response has been overwhelming. I will be sending out all my service details in the first Weekly Newsletter Report which will come to via email Sunday. Until then, if you are a subscriber, do not forget to sign up for my subscriber-only access twitter page. Sign up for a twitter account then go here http://twitter.com/acrowder. I will allow you access. This will be a key area for my subscribers so don’t miss out. However, the key elements of my service (newsletter, real-time trade alerts) will still be sent out through email (twitter as well). I want to make my service as tech and user friendly as possible. Access to my information is key and I want it performed in a timely manner.
Again thanks to all of you – subscribers, loyal readers, etc.. I appreciate all of the wonderful feedback. Keep it coming! I hope through your participation that I can make this an incredibly unique and most important, prosperous for all of us. My performance speaks for itself.
Kindest,
Andy
Newsletter Service Begins!!! Real-Time Trade Alerts.
August 25, 2010
Since its inception back in early May, My Options Portfolio is up 72.0% or $19,782.50 (including commissions). The win ratio since the strategy’s inception is an astounding 80.5% (33 out of 41 winning trades).
You can see all of the trades here and all of the trades verified at my Thinkorswim account (scroll down the page at the aforementioned link to see all of my trades).
Over the past few months, I have had numerous requests to initiate a newsletter service that follows my trades in real-time and discusses the options strategies, technical indicators, and sentiment indicators that I incorporate in my trading. The response has been overwhelming and certainly a wonderful surprise. The kind words and encouragement regarding my options trading and the strategies I use have certainly been a positive reinforcement after 10+ years of trading options.
I hope that now I can prosper and share my trading ideas alongside of all of you who have encouraged me over the past few months. Again, the response has been overwhelming and as a result I have decided to limit my newsletter to 50-100 subscribers. I hope this will not disappoint those of you who are unable to get in. If you are unable to get in please email me and I will add you to a waiting list.
Service details below.
Newsletter Service Details
- 3-10 Options Trades Per Month – my proprietary trading system allows me to generate consistent winning trades, and as a member you will have full access to those trades the minute I post them.
- Real-time Trade alerts – get every trade update the instant I post it, sent right to your email inbox and twitter account. Trades are also updated live on my website.
- Crowder Options Strategy Guide – a concise introductory guide that gives you some insight into how I trade.
- Market commentary – I update my market outlook daily (and sometimes more) here on my blog, and only members get access to my inside perspective on twitter.
- Weekly Newsletter – includes weekly RSI overbought/oversold levels on 15-20 of the most liquid ETFs
- Access – I am available any time to answer your questions about my trades, my options strategies, and my thinking about the markets. Whether you’re new to options trading or are an inquisitive seasoned pro, I am glad to hear from you and will help in any way I can.
If you wish to subscribe, click on the Subscribe Here link below. Also, if you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to email me at andy.crowder@gmail.com.
