Conservative Options Trades

Discussion in 'Journals' started by danshirley, Aug 21, 2011.

  1. BCS and more on XLF:

    http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424053111904317504577494901432326104.html?mod=BOL_hpp_dc

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/barclays-penalized-libor-probe-153518844.html

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hagens-berman-files-class-action-005400444.html

    http://seekingalpha.com/article/706731-the-latest-crisis-now-unfolding-on-wall-street?source=yahoo

    http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/lie-more-as-a-business-model/?partner=yahoofinance

    http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=BCS&t=1y&l=off&z=l&q=l&c=

    http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=BCS&t=5d&l=off&z=l&q=l&c=

    Trade:

    With BCS at 10.27

    Jan '13 12.50/15 bear call spread for $35
    Yield = 35/215 = 16.3% in 194 days or 30.6% annualized
    Prob: N/A
    Expectation:N/A

    A topical but not 'conservative' trade. There's a tremendous amount of information being generated and I can only get a general sense of where things are probably going.

    The 'conservative' thing to do would be to stay far away from the global banks for at least 10 years... maybe more.

    I believe the XLF trade above is more conservative in my usual sense of the word.
     
    #181     Jul 9, 2012
  2. #182     Jul 9, 2012
  3. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/regulator-220-million-missing-iowa-023341172.html

    The problem with the world is that it is full of people.

    When is late too late?

    Hello darkness, my old friend
    I've come to talk with you again
    Because a vision softly creeping
    Left its seeds while I was sleeping
    And the vision that was planted in my brain
    Still remains
    Within the sound of silence

    In restless dreams I walked alone
    Narrow streets of cobblestone
    'Neath the halo of a street lamp
    I turned my collar to the cold and damp
    When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
    That split the night
    And touched the sound of silence

    And in the naked light I saw
    Ten thousand people, maybe more
    People talking without speaking
    People hearing without listening
    People writing songs that voices never share
    And no one dared
    Disturb the sound of silence

    "Fools", said I, "You do not know
    Silence like a cancer grows
    Hear my words that I might teach you
    Take my arms that I might reach you"
    But my words, like silent raindrops fell
    And echoed
    In the wells of silence

    And the people bowed and prayed
    To the neon god they made
    And the sign flashed out its warning
    In the words that it was forming
    And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
    And tenement halls"
    And whispered in the sounds of silence
     
    #183     Jul 10, 2012
  4. SPY:

    http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=spy

    Trade:
    With SPY @ 136.09
    AUG 132/135/140 'broken wing' butterfly for a net credit of $30

    39 days to expiration

    Price................P/L
    130.................30
    132.................30
    135..............327
    136..............224
    138................0
    140..............(170)
    145..............(170)
     
    #185     Jul 10, 2012
  5. SPY Ctd:
    Filled the butterfly at $15 credit
    http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=spy

    This gives the following:

    with SPY at 134.80 and 39 days to expiration

    Price................P/L
    130.................15
    132.................15
    135...............312
    136...............213
    138................0
    140..............(185)
    145..............(185)


    AGP Ctd:

    Filled AGP at $50 credit
    http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=agp

    Jan '14 90/85 bull put spread for a net of $50
    Yield = 50/450= 11.1% in ? days... 10 months at the outside
    Annualized > 11.1*360/300 = 13.2% annualized
    Prob = NA
    Expectation = NA

    I don't post fills per se but I was asked.
     
    #186     Jul 10, 2012
  6. Now I'm curious do you manage these trades. What I mean by that is that you gain exposure to gamma do you roll down or up and strikes.. Or do you have like a break off points where you close down position or have you even thought about it
     
    #188     Jul 12, 2012
  7. My sense is most of these are not actual trades. Thus nothing to manage.
    Merely hypothetical... "what if's".
    Nothing wrong with that, as a learning tool, to look back on.
    I just have a difficult time taking the timing of most of these trades seriously.
    But I could be wrong.
     
    #189     Jul 12, 2012
  8. My guess is that these trades are meant to expire worthless. The credit is small and time decay doesn't really start until the last month.



    Looks like the tree is starting to bear fruit. The trades that danshirley posts are mostly - if not all - long term trades and you can have a quick look at the results. I did a quick look and found zero losing trades, but because of the high risk/reward ratio in the individual trades you do have to be alert as one bad trade can wipe out 10 good trades.

    So far though it looks good.


    :)
     
    #190     Jul 13, 2012