My only November option left to expire was the an IWM covered call. I could’ve let it expire and be called away. That inaction on my part would’ve saved me $2.38 in commission for this trade, but the data entry is easier this way in Quicken and I decided my couple of minutes saved is…
Author: Alex Fotopoulos
Account Cleaning, Starting with TLT
I had a bad run with my TLT options and short shares and then it turned in my favor, but I didn’t close (or at least roll) my covered puts in time to make up as much as I would’ve liked. I could push for a better gain by rolling my put strikes lower or…
End of the Month Summary – October 2016
As scary as October can be some years, I had another fantastic month this October. As the S&P 500 declined, my account balance increased. I’m making up for lost ground still, but months like this past one go a long way in helping me get there. The declines in my long shares were more than…
Options Expiration – October 2016
October options expiration worked out better for me than I expected just a few days ago. After I overpaid to roll my TLT October $135 puts earlier this week (compared to the price today), I was able to roll my TLT October $133 puts for nearly a full profit. While TLT was trading at $133.31,…
Rolled TLT Covered Puts Lower
I didn’t time my trade well today, but I think it was the right trade to make for a longer-term outlook on TLT. While TLT was trading at $131.92, I bought 5 TLT October $135 puts and sold 5 December $131 puts for a net premium of $1.53 paid per combination. I paid $772.12, including…
SPY Chart – YTD Through October 7, 2016
The chart below shows the daily prices for the year-to-date on SPY, an ETF that tracks the S&P 500 Index, after closing the week at $215.04, on October 7, 2016. While the large intraday price swings seen recently make the markets seem out of control, stock indexes have been moving in a tight trading range. The SPY chart…
End of the Month Summary – September 2016
My account had another good month as I clawed back a little more of my paper losses and edged back above $80,000 again. TLT (no surprise) was the biggest factor in my gains as my short shares fell in price (resulting in a gain for me) and most of my covered puts lost value (resulting…
Options Expiration – September 2016
I had no September options left in my account to expire today, but finally sold a covered call on some of my long shares. I have 200 shares of IWM in my account, but decided to only sell one covered call today. I’ve had such a mental block against making this trade for so long…
End of the Month Summary – August 2016
(Sorry for the delay on this post. I wrote it on 9/1, but apparently forgot to hit “Publish”.) It is a lot more fun to make money than to lose money, but I assume y’all knew that already. I was due for a good month in my account again and August delivered. TLT, IWM, and…