The Option Alpha Podcast

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show74Most newbie option investors start trading with small brokerage accounts. Whether by choice or necessity, the average investor opens up their account with approx $10,000 according to most brokers. And while this isn't a small amount of money by any means, it does limit your ability to trade more aggressive options strategies like straddles and strangles.In today's podcast, I want to help you understand how you can still trade these more aggressive and profitable options strategies (synthetically with small tweaks) even if you've got a small account or are trading in and IRA. Specifically, I'll answer a bunch of common questions I get from new PRO members including; What if I can't trade straddles and strangles? How do I adjust the trading alerts to fit my portfolio? Should I scale position sizes down or up (# contracts)? What about spread width - go wider or more narrow? What if the commissions are eating too much into the profit after closing

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show73What does great pricing look like when trading short strangles? Is it collecting a certain raw dollar amount? Or a certain percentage of the stock price? Without a doubt, these are tough questions to answer for newbie options traders and hard to answer without some context. And while comparing pricing on different risk defined option trades, like credit spreads and iron condors, is pretty straight-forward and easy, it can become difficult to recognize great pricing with undefined risk option strategies like short strangles.In today's podcast, I examined eight different short strangles across a mix of ETFs and individual stocks. I recorded everything from the current stock price and implied volatility ranking to the premium collected and the margin required for each one lot strangle. My goal? Discover which option trades had the best pricing on a relative basis given that every short strangle we analyzed had the same 70% probability of success.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show72You've entered a new option trade with a high probability of success - but you also know that a 70% chance of success doesn't mean it's a sure thing. As soon as your order fills the stock starts to move against your position - just your luck right? And each subsequent day the stock continues to trend closer and closer to your strike prices, threatening your position. At this point, you're starting to get pretty emotional about the whole thing and don't know what to do or how to adjust it. When do you pull the trigger and make an adjustment? Do you do it now or is it too soon? If you wait, what if you miss an opportunity? How much time is left until expiration? Are you taking in enough of a credit to reduce the overall risk? Is it worth it to even adjust at all right now? Believe me; I get it, and I know that these are just some of the questions circling in your head when presented with this situation. That's why in today's podcast epi

 Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show71For years now I've talked about the concept of exiting option trades early and taking money off the table as a way to both improve your win rates and increase overall profitability. Still, I'll often get emails and questions about the legitimacy of exiting trades early vs. letting profitable trades go all the way to expiration and "milking it for all its worth" as some members have put it. Honestly, I can't blame anyone for questioning it because on paper it sounds crazy. Close a trade early for half the potential profit, and you'll make more money - who would believe that right? Today, we'll present another case study that proves why the two biggest misconceptions about exiting trades early are completely wrong. Not only will you see why taking profits before expiration increases your win rate but you'll also hear how it helps reduce the magnitude of drawdowns and increase your average profit per trade. Once you see the results

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show70We’ve reached yet another options expiration week, which can sometimes cause many traders to freak out as they worry about positions that are still lingering in their portfolio. And with the deadline for expiration quickly approaching it's no wonder why many people are incorrectly managing trades with the fears of assignment knocking on their doorstep. Either rushing to close position that shouldn't be closed or waiting too long to act and putting them at risk of a massive "gamma move" in the underlying option's price.Typically by the time we reach expiration week we've closed positions that hit our profit target and adjusted positions that have gone against us. But as we near the third Friday of every month, we have to come face to face with the realization that some trades just haven't worked out as we might have hoped. In today's episode, I want to help you create a checklist for deciding which positions to close or roll durin

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show69 Regardless of your current account size or trading experience level, you should be putting some serious thought into how you plan on scaling your options strategy over the next few years. Especially if you’re looking to generate a consistent monthly income from options trading, you probably realize that having $10,000 in your account won’t be enough to generate profits to replace your current job or salary - or if this was a shock to you, sorry for the reality check but it’s true. Still, you need to plan ahead for the changes that will accompany having more cash. In today’s show I’ll walk through the 3 biggest tips I have for anyone who’s looking to grow their 6-figure account. As with any regular business, the products and strategy for trading are going to change and shift as you grow. The core principles remain the same (i.e. selling options, taking advantage of high volatility, etc.) but the way you could about capturing profits and utilizing capital will need to b

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show68Naturally, if you’ve started trading options for any reasonable amount of time you’ll run across the VIX index. Or as it’s commonly referred to, the “Fear” Index. And while the concept of tracking and trading volatility with the VIX might sound intimidating at first, trust me, it’s not all that complicated and just requires a little common sense.In today’s podcast, we’ve brought on a very special guest, Mark Sebastian, a former floor trader, hedge fund manager and the guy behind OptionPit.com. What’s great about Mark is that not only does he have a lot of experience as an options trader, but he’s also got a lot of specialized knowledge when it comes to the VIX and volatility products like VXX, UVXY, and VXZ that I know you’re going to love. During the show, we’ll talk about the history of the VIX, how the index is priced, how the VIX futures term structure accounts for mean reversion and some simple strategies you can use to trade volatility with a higher probability o

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show67In most investing or online trading circles, it's common place to hear people tout the need for "stop loss" orders to theoretically protect your portfolio. And while there is no doubt that stop loss orders help mitigate large drawdowns from time to time, the question I never see asked is, "What am I giving up by implementing a stop-loss order as part of my trading system?" You see, all too often traders and financial educators are quick to harp on the "need" or "requirement" for having continuous and always present stop loss orders in place. Still, we all accept this golden rule as an undeniable investing truth, because, well, it's always been something you're told to use. Today, I'll challenge this long-standing requirement for stop loss orders when trading option strangles. Until now, nobody has built a system to backtest this variable on the scale and scope that we have here at Option Alpha. Sure, you'

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show66Paper trading has its place in the investing world, but it likely isn't as useful as many brokers and financial gurus make it out to be. In fact, I'd even argue that if you are currently paper trading you're probably not using the virtual platforms to get the optimal experience out of them. Now, I won't deny that paper trading does have some benefits in helping traders learn the mechanics, but the drawbacks, in my opinion, outweigh the perceived usefulness.In today's newest podcast episode, I'll walk you through all the major pitfalls new investors make when trying to paper trade stocks and options. And if you're still adamant about paper trading, that's fine too because I'll help you get 10x more results from your paper trading activities by accelerating your learning curve with a few simple tweaks.  Ultimately, at some point, you've got to make the jump into real money trading and the sooner you do the better off you&

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show65If you're even remotely interested in personal finance or wealth building, you've likely heard of Todd Tresidder from Financial Mentor. If you haven't yet, well, then we've got a special treat for you today as Todd joins the Option Alpha podcast in this exclusive interview. Naturally, he's got an incredible resume having spent much of his time in the Hedge Fund space before retiring at age 35, but it's the actionable and real-world investing experience that backs up all the accolades he receives. In today's show, Todd and I dive deep into traditional equity portfolio allocations, inherent flaws with buy and hold logic, bond market bubbles, statistical and mathematical risk management systems for investing, and the importance of compound growth rates. And while Todd covers each area with such a simplistic and rationale approach, don't be fooled by the power behind the system and thought process. These principles are critical to yo

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show64Nobody’s a perfect trader - not by any stretch. We all make mistakes, and when we own up to them, we dramatically increase our ability to overcome them in the future. With more than 35k members in our community here at Option Alpha, I've seen every possible situation and mistake you could come up with - and today we're going to go through what I know are the top 15 1/2 options trading mistakes people are making right now.Trust me; it wasn't easy to narrow these down to 15. Truth be told, I wanted to start rattling off more than 30, but I knew that I had to focus on only the most critical areas that could help shift or alter your trajectory. And of course, I'll make sure also to cover and talk openly about my shortcomings and challenges as a trader. In the end, my hope is that you recognize just one area where you are struggling and put together a plan of action to overcome it by the end of the week.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show63A little over a year ago now the CBOE released its first round of options-based strategy performance benchmark indexes. Since, they’ve slowly increased the number of trackable option strategies on their website. Each strategy index is "designed to highlight the long-term utility of options as risk management and yield enhancing investment tools” and really helps bring some context to options trading for the little guys like you and me.In today’s show, I’ll highlight some of the more interesting strategy based index performance metrics I know will help you in your options trading journey. This includes; SPX Covered Combo Strangle, VIX Tail-Risk Hedge, SPX Protective Puts, and the SPX Monthly vs. Weekly Put Selling showdown. Plus, I’ll give you a little more information on some the options backtesting we’ve been doing here at Option Alpha and the up-coming release of our proprietary backtesting software soon.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show62At least 2-3 times per week I’ll get an email from someone along these lines; “Kirk, why can’t we just buy the best dividend stocks right before the company pays the dividend, and then sell the stock the next day and keep the profit?” Seems like a cool idea, and I’ve definitely seen many smaller blogs peddling this idea to investors, but it might easier said than done.In today’s show I’ll help you understand the four most important dates you need to know when it comes to dividend investing, including a complete rundown of the fictional arbitrage opportunity that dividend investors are continuously searching for during the ex-dividend date. Plus, I’ll give you an alternative strategy for purchasing the stock at a discount, while reducing your tax liability, as well as the impact of dividend payments on options pricing.If you’ve got a friend or trading buddy who hasn’t made the jump to options yet and is still cashing “dividend stocks” and “dividend strategies” then this

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show61I’m just going to come right out and say it - today’s show is going to blow your mind. Not because we are talking about some crazy complicated strategy or options pricing model, but because we’re talking about a dead simple system for selling options every day that generates 22% per year since 2009. And what’s so fascinating for me, the host of the show, is how calm and cool our special guest is talking about his strategy. It’s just so mechanical and systematic it’s almost boring (well not for me but maybe some people might think so).In today’s show I’ll be interviewing an incredible trader, real estate entrepreneur and patriot. You’ll hear how this former Army Officer who served in Iraq in 2003, subsequently awarded a Bronze Star, used his “options” experience in real estate to start selling covered calls. Eventually he transitioned into selling credit spreads on the major indexes and continues to generate consistent income with an annual average return of 22% per yea

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show60 What if I told you that Warren Buffett, yes that one, is actually just an options trader in disguise? Actually, he’s not disguising anything since his entire strategy and philosophy is all publicly available and linked below. But, that the $5 billion dollar options trading strategy he is using right now has the exact same core methodologies that we use here at Option Alpha, i.e. option selling.Unfortunately, this strategy and business setup is not commonly talked about in the media. Everyone ignores the 50,000 short put options he sold on KO or the 3-month short puts he sold before acquiring Burlington Northern Santa Fe. They are big trades that tell us a lot about the way he uses options but the media won’t cover those because it’s not “mainstream” enough to reach the masses. Lucky for you, we’re covering it today for you.In today’s show, I’ll help you understand why his most profitable business, which grew from $41 billion to $88 billion, is the insurance business a

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show59It's easy for traders, myself included, to talk about our profitable trades. I mean who doesn't want to talk about making money right? But we know that we can't win on every trade and today I'm going to cover an in-depth case study on our EWZ short strangle.We started building the EWZ position with short strangles back in late November and ending making more 27 trades over the course of five months to adjust and hedge the position. It was by far one of our longest held positions, but at the end of the five month period we ended up turning a paper loss of $2,538 (the most we were losing at any one point) into a real loss of just $330. An 87% reduction in the loss.It took a lot of confidence in our adjustment strategy as well as patience to let the market cyclicality play out, and my hope is that today's show helps you understand the overall adjustment philosophy that helped turn this trade around. Sure, it would've been great to highlight a

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show58One of the most challenging aspects of options trading for most people is in finding the best stocks and setups to trade. And I completely understand since there are thousands of stocks from which to choose. So, how do you filter down to a handful of just the best stocks with the best trading potential?In today's podcast episode, I'll help simplify the process for you because I can almost guarantee that you're overthinking it. Finding the best stocks for options trading is actually very easy when you know what to look for and have a solid understanding of what your portfolio "needs" to maintain it's balance. Master these two points, and a little technical analysis if necessary, and you'll find that the possibilities are wide open.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show57We already know that you want to learn how to trade options and generate a consistent income. What we didn’t know, as well as we do now, is that we had some pretty specific gaps in our previous courses that made the process of learning how to trade confusing. And because we always want to improve and perfect our training here at Option Alpha, a couple of months ago we surveyed thousands of members in search of the "missing links" to our program.After more than 1,378 detailed survey responses and 68 one-on-one phone calls with PRO & ELITE members, we decided to completely overhaul our training courses from start to finish. I'm not talking about adding another video here or there; I'm talking about creating an entirely new training program with a defined path and specific, measurable goals. Plus, it had to be 100% free and 10,000% times better than anyone else's paid program.Not to pat ourselves on the back or anything, but we nailed it! Peop

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show56With more than 32k option traders in our program now, I can tell you honestly that I've seen just as many 7-figure IRA accounts as I have 7-figure margin accounts in the last eight years. Many new traders think that trading options in an IRA account limit your ability to make money and generate income. They hear stories about all the "restrictions" brokers place on new accounts that prevent you from making high probability trades and quit before actually learning how to work within the system. But does trading in an IRA account vs. a traditional margin make or break successful traders? Given all of the favorable tax advantages that an IRA account has, it'd be rash to write them off as you start or continue your career trading options. Yet, that's what most traders do. They blindly assume that margin accounts offer the best opportunity to make money. And although brokers restrict certain activities by law, the reality is that using your IRA acco

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show55Market neutral, delta neutral, or balanced portfolio; call it what you want but the concept of making money regardless of where the stock market goes has been a long-time goal for many traders. But what happens when your portfolio becomes unbalanced? What are the best hedging strategies you can use to get back to a neutral stance? In today’s show, I'll walk through three different portfolio scenarios and offer my advice on the best hedging strategies to use to help re-balance your positions. You'll hear which options strategies to use if you're too bullish, too bearish or completely lopsided. Plus, I'll help you learn how to hedge stocks that don't have tradable option contracts.Of course, it all starts with a solid understanding of how to determine what yur portfolio looks like on either a beta-weighted or delta-weighted basis. It's enough anymore to just have a couple of bearish trades and a couple of bullish trades. You have to determin