The Option Writer – Strategies for Selling Options

July Portfolio Income – Amazing 5.92%

Posted on 19. Jul, 2010 by Founder in Blog

During our July trading, we did not close out ANY trades at a lose once again.

Compared to the June portfolio, we had a total return that was MUCH higher comparatively at 5.92% vs. 1.96%. We are extremely happy that we had one of our best months following the flash crash and correction. The VIX spike back in May when we started building this portfolio was an amazing opportunity that we capitalized on.

For more commentary on our amazing month and HOW we pulled it off with the huge correction please watch the video below:

To re-cap this month’s income, let’s look at what we made vs. our required investments (in margin). Here are the positions we had with corresponding PROFIT/INVESTMENT and RETURN:

QQQQ 30 PUT – $18/$308 = 5.83% Return

DIA 80 PUT – $35/$803 = 4.36% Return

SPY 75 PUT- $55/$772 = 7.12% Return

IWM 45 PUT – $30/$450 = 6.67% Return

With regard to TOTAL INCOME and RETURN, the July portfolio produced $138 of total income after investing just $2,333 in margin. This is nearly double what we made last month with far less margin requirements. That means we saw a total portfolio return of 5.92% this month.

As we usually point out, our calculations assume that you enter just 1 (ONE) contract for each trading alert – i.e. a total of 4 contracts for the month. Those members with a higher capital base should be entering multiple contract positions each week.

If you want honest and straight-forward trading then please keep us in mind. Hey, you might even want to join in on all the fun by signing up for a Membership Right Now!

June Portfolio – A Conservative 1.96%

Posted on 20. Jun, 2010 by Founder in Blog

In the investing world, slow and steady wins the race every time.

During our June trading, we did not close out ANY trades at a lose once again. That’s hard to say for some other sites out there, especially after the recent correction that almost certainly messed with portfolios.

Compared to the May portfolio, we had a total return that was slightly lower comparatively at 1.96% vs. 2.73%. We are a little disappointed that we missed our monthly goal of 2-3% per month. However, we feel that in building the portfolio for June, we had a lot of reasons to stay far from the market and ultra-conservative.

Believe me when I say that next month’s profit will be incredible given the VIX spike we had a couple weeks ago!

To re-cap this month’s income, let’s look at what we made vs. our required investments (in margin). Here are the positions we had with corresponding PROFIT/INVESTMENT and RETURN:

SPY 130 CALL – $18/$909 = 1.98% Return

DIA 118 CALL – $18/$1,417 = 1.27% Return

IWM 60 PUT - $20/$630 = 3.17% Return

QQQQ 40 PUT – $10/$400 = 2.50% Return

With regard to TOTAL INCOME and RETURN, the June portfolio produced $66 of total income after investing just $3,356 in margin. That means we saw a total portfolio return of 1.96% this month. As we usually point out, our calculations assume that you enter just 1 (ONE) contract for each trading alert – i.e. a total of 4 contracts for the month. Those members with a higher capital base should be entering multiple contract positions each week.

If you want honest and straight-forward trading then please keep us in mind. Hey, you might even want to join in on all the fun by signing up for a Membership Right Now!

January Portfolio Return – 4.08%

Posted on 19. Jan, 2010 by Founder in Blog

The January portfolio return was once again extremely profitable for our members and marks the 12th consecutive month without ANY losing trades! Again that’s 1 WHOLE YEAR without any losing trades! If you want to start seeing these returns in your own account, SIGN UP HERE FOR A PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP.

Compared to the December portfolio, we had a total return that lower comparatively from December at 4.08% to 5.19%. Clearly we don’t really care if we increase or decrease our monthly returns as long as we hit our 3% profit goal – which we are beating nearly each month. In addition, we showed once again that even in the face of a major market moves higher and extreme volatility, selling options with out P.O.T.S system still produced great profits.

To re-cap this month’s income, let’s look at what we made vs. our required investments (in margin). Here are the positions we had with corresponding PROFIT/INVESTMENT and RETURN:

DIA 108 CALL – $53/$1,221 = 4.34% Return

DIA 110 CALL – $55/$1,351 = 4.07% Return

IWM 66 CALL - $30/$595 = 5.04% Return

IWM 42 PUT – $18/$419 = 4.29% Return

QQQQ 35 PUT – $6/$382 = 1.57% Return

As we said earlier, we did not have to close out any positions this month at a loss. This just goes to show everyone that by writing options, you are basically forcing the indexes to make dramatic moves in a very short time frame. And since we have positions on BOTH sides of the market (Puts and Calls), you are guaranteed to make money on at least one side of the trade every time – or both sides like we do every month.

With regard to TOTAL INCOME and RETURN, the January portfolio produced $162 of total income (double from last month) after investing just $3,968 in margin. That means we saw a total portfolio return of 4.08% this month. As we usually point out, our calculations assume that you enter just 1 (ONE) contract for each trading alert – i.e. a total of 5 contracts for the month. Those members with a higher capital base should be entering multiple contract positions each week.

***Even if you factor in a 1% comission for the month our return would still produce annualized returns of over 35% per year***

Currently we have a fully invested 2010 February income portfolio and are about to begin THIS WEEK building the March income portfolio. The outlook for both of these portfolios is extremely positive right now as we are still writing options far away from the market’s current price.

November Portfolio Return – 4.38%

Posted on 21. Nov, 2009 by Founder in Blog

The November portfolio was once again extremely profitable and marks the 10th consecutive month without ANY losing trades! Impressive right folks? Well, we are humbled to have this type of track record I can assure you. If you want to start seeing these returns in your own account, SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE 30 DAY TRIAL.

Compared to the October portfolio, we had a return that was slightly lower comparatively from 4.77% to 4.38%. Clearly we don’t really care if we increase or decrease our monthly returns as long as we hit our 3% profit goal – which we are beating nearly each month. In addition, we showed once again that even in the face of a major market moves, selling options with out P.O.T.S system still produced a profit.

To re-cap this month’s income, let’s look at what we made vs. our required investments (in margin). Here are the positions we had with corresponding PROFIT/INVESTMENT and RETURN:

DIA 108 CALL  - $15/$183 = 8.18% Return

IWM 46 PUT – $22/$440 = 5.00% Return

DIA 78 PUT - $25/$827 = 3.02% Return

DIA 103 CALL – $16/$330 = 4.84% Return

As we said earlier, we did not have to close out any positions this month at a loss. This just goes to show everyone that by writing options, you are basically forcing the indexes to make dramatic moves in a very short time frame. And since we have positions on BOTH sides of the market (Puts and Calls), you are guaranteed to make money on at least one side of the trade every time – or both sides like we do every month.

With regard to TOTAL INCOME and RETURN, the October portfolio produced $78 of total income after investing just $1,780 in margin. That means we saw a total portfolio return of 4.38% this month. As we usually point out, our calculations assume that you enter just 1 (ONE) contract for each trading alert – i.e. a total of 4 contracts for the month. Those members with a higher capital base should be entering multiple contract positions each week.

Currently we have a fully invested December income portfolio and are in the middle of building the 2010 January portfolio. The outlook for both of these portfolios is extremely positive right now as we are still writing options far away from the market’s current price.

New Trading Alert is AVAILABLE NOW for our Members! If you would like to start seeing these same return in your portfolio, SIGN UP FOR A FREE 30 DAY TRAIL here.

Enjoy your profits!

NASDAQ Target Before Major Resistance

Posted on 19. Jul, 2009 by Founder in Blog

I spent most of my time earlier this morning looking over my hundreds of charts trying to get some feeling of the market after last week’s crazy actions. Of course nothing is as clear as I would like it to be but that’s why most people can’t make money trading right? I mean if it was crystal clear then everyone would be on the right side. However, the general theme I found was this: there is still room to move higher. Even in the fact of ridiculous pressure on the economic front as well as job front, the markets were resilient last week. Whether you agree with the move or not, we have to realize that there actually may be more room above us.

Now my word of caution: don’t get too crazy long. While I think things could creep higher over the next week, we are entering MAJOR resistance zones. Per the NASDAQ, another significant move higher next week is still possible. BUT – 2,000 is the 50% retracement level from the top of the market back in 2007 – i.e. the MOST important and strongest retracement level. In addition, the same 2,000 level has been major support in the past which means it will be even harder to break. Even with all the recent strength it’s looking pretty toppy to me. I’ll let you all take from this what you will – these are just my thoughts using the long term charts.

Regardless of which side you choose to align yourself on in the coming weeks. Understand that if you buy options you are either going to be dead right or DEAD WRONG. It’s a 50/50 chance you are taking and if you feel that risky then go ahead and knock your socks off. We’ll just keep collecting small profits each day regardless of market direction.

W. Buffett Uses Our Strategy

Posted on 01. Jun, 2009 by Founder in Blog

It’s absolutely true and we are going to prove it to you here. Warren Buffett is a U.S. investor, businessman, and philanthropist. He is far and away one of the most successful investors in history, the largest shareholder and C.E.O. of Berkshire Hathaway, and is currently ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world. There is no doubt that the “Oracle of Omaha” is one of the most recognizable and trusted names in the investment world.

But, it may come as a surprise to most of you that Warren Buffett uses the exact same strategy that we use here at the Option Writer. In fact, his company Berkshire Hathaway has disclosed publicly every single quarter that they write index options for income. Here’s what they say: 

“Berkshire has written equity index put option contracts on four major equity indexes including three indexes outside of the United States.”

Don’t you think that if the richest man in the world is writing options, you should be doing the exact same thing? We do. That’s why we choose to this option strategy over any other.

To prove that Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway use the same option strategy, we have provided direction links to the quarterly and annual reports on the Berkshire website below:

1st Quarter 2009 Report – Page 10, Paragraph 1

2008 Annual Report – Page 45, Paragraph 2

Why You Should Write Options

Posted on 01. Oct, 2007 by Founder in Blog

Option selling as an investment strategy and/or profession has the following advantages over every other investment strategy in today’s market.

• Very High Success Rate – The truth is that even if you have never traded this strategy before in your life, you are already more than 80% more likely to make money than an option buyer according to a CBOE study on option traders between 2003-08.  Add on the professional analysis and knowledge you get as a member and the success rate soars from there.
• Non-Directional Trading - Most option traders buy a call if they think – predict - market is going up or buy a put if they think - predict - market is doing down. By writing/selling options, you avoid the game of trying to predict where prices will go. Instead you are projecting where you think prices won’t go. For instance, if you are bullish a market, you would sell an out of the money put option. In this case, the market can move up, stay the same or even move down, as long as it is above your strike price upon expiration, you will still take your full profit.
• Definable Risk Control – Regardless of the label of unlimited risk in selling short options, option selling can be just as definable and controlled as any other type of futures or stock trade. Through the use of stop-loss orders – which you should always be using – you can control and limit your downside risk to meet your own risk tolerance. As a member we take care of risk management for you by alerting you to any adjustments or trades we close out to control losses.
• Consistent Income – One of the best things about writing options is that they’re income-oriented. You receive a credit up front for opening a position and when the option expires worthless you get to pocket the net credit and move on to the next trade. It’s a consistent stream of income each and every month.
• Time Is On Your Side – When writing/selling options, time value works for you instead of against you. The buyer of the option pays you a premium for that option. If you sell an out of the money option, the entire value of that option has is time value. As time passes, if the market behaves favorably, the option will gradually lose it’s value and expired worthlessly – leaving you will the whole premium you collected up front.
• Taking Profits Is Simple – We’ve all hear at one point or another to “cut losses short and let winners run” right? Well this may sound good on paper, but emotions are the critical enemy of traders. A trader can sometimes get so excited about market move that they either take profits early due to fear or let losses compound due to hope of a reversal. When you write options, the decision of when to take profits is one you no longer have to make. The most you can make is the premium you collected when the option expires worthless. This is your clear profit objective – do nothing, simply let the option expire.
• Get Out Of The House Already! – For us, the best thing about writing options is that we are free to do other things while our positions make us money.  As number 5 mentioned, our trades profit from the passage of time. So, feel free to go and do things that are more important than watching the market all day: spend time with your family and/or kids, read a book, workout, take up under-water basket weaving, whatever you want! It’s your life right? Shouldn’t you let your investments work for you – not work for you investments?