Des, I know it is early in the year... what percentage return are you targeting for the year? What is your goal? I'm going to be posting my results at the end of the week along with you. I wondering how I will stack up against you. My goal is 120% for 2019.
15%, but I should be far less... I sure hope, but based on the years of manual tests, I should not be more then 9 or 10% max drawdown. We will see, but that is what I think I will do this year.
I did 55% on my IRA in 2018. I would like to exceed my 2018 numbers. More than half of those gains were the result of the Jan/Mar 2900/3000 bear diagonal that I bought in Sep and Oct. https://www.elitetrader.com/et/threads/the-spx-has-hit-a-cyclical-top.325108/
What type of ratio are you putting on for a spread like that? And forgive me I'm average at options. I grasp the concepts but rarely trade them. Sell 2 of the Jan 2900 put Buy 3 of the Mar 3000 put a ratio of selling 2 and buying 3? Curious if that is the type of ratio you put on in a trade like that. That ratio looks like the concept is risk 1 to make about 3 if the trade works. But your risk of 1 is really not entirely all there because if after about 2 months the trade does not work you would be marginally up or down on the spread because of the decay of Jan puts offsetting some of your risk. So in reality you might only be risking approximately 1 to make 5. Let me know if I am grasping the concept. Awesome trade...
No, I was 1:1. My average price was 68 on the SPX trade, but I was buying the SPY trade into October.
Crazy week (for me). I should eke out a gain, but the variance was high ($148K peak to trough). I am still holding the diagonal, but reduced.
The structure acts as a same-strike calendar when it's deep ITM, but the (max) terminal gain is the short strike. I sold it for more than the strike width. I recall that I covered some at 112.