Income Tax Rates

Earlier, I had a motivating talk with an option's investor who is still looking for for the key strategy to earning constant returns with option investing. He understood several things which were so well-known to me also.

The thing in particular that really stood out to me was when he alleged "Non-directional option investing doesn't mean we will produce a return on investment in every direction. It really means that we produce a return if the asset doesn't move in any direction. Another way to look at it, it's really a directional strategy, sideways." This is very true, and most schools say that it's easy to manufacture returns with options simply because we can produce money for every direction the market goes. This is true in some points of view and false in others.

Investors using Condors as their main strategy understand what I am saying here; especially if you are investing in the Iron Condors which most schools and written materials preach. If you are investing with this option spread this year, you most probably aren't earning much. This is because that the Iron Condor is just as directional as the other option spreads only that it's direction is sideways. To most, it's just as difficult to forecast a non-move in the market as it is to forecast market that will be moving.

I have had many calls over the years from people losing huge chunks of their accounts trading credit spreads and condors. They all say the same thing... "I was doing great for several months, and then all the sudden I lost nearly my whole account in one day." I have heard this story over and over again.

This is the reason why I don't push the popular Iron Condors, Bear Calls or Bull Puts. If you are a couple days from expiration, and the RUT is really near the sold strike, then at that moment you are in a very risky position. I'll remind you that this is the same risky method that many other investors are using to manage this option spread. Shortly all of your friends will be hearing the same story, but you won't be sharing this news with your wife! You smile at the moment, but you won't be if it happens to your trading portfolio. Another sad thing about this investng style is that the fear level is so astronomical that it really hurts your personal life. It makes it tough to sleep or even just relax each day.

Anyway, to deal with this problem San Jose Options Mentoring has redesigned Iron Condors and Credit Spreads. We have a different technique which gives the underlying much more wiggle room, lowering our stress level and keeping us out of dangerous situations. Remember, the less you have to adjust your condor, the better off you will be in most cases.

Constructing safe trades to begin with is a priority and will improve anyone's trading skills and returns, but another strategy that we've been working hard on lately is locking in profits. We have techniques to lock in profits on nearly all the trades that we do. It's one of the best things you can possibly learn as an investor.

There's yet another technique we've developed that I'd like to mention before we go. Every trader has some trades that don't work out right? Well we obviously do too, but in our case, we usually end up with a Bonus Trade which gives us a chance to make back our loss with very little or no risk at all. It's these little details to trading that make all the difference at the end of the year.

So, finally I'd like to say that whether we have a winner or a loser, we have some excellent adjustment tricks that will be sure to greatly improve your personal trading skills.