Market Theory and Portfolio Management 277 in C#

Recognizer Code 128C in C# Market Theory and Portfolio Management 277

a hard order Second-guessing their initial assessment of the risk of a situation is the rst mistake managers make Keep it simple Too many people make things just too dif cult and make mountains out of mole hills The more complex your risk strategy, the more dif cult it is to manage and likely the more expensive it is Buy and hold is not a bad strategy; it has proven to be successful, but you will be old and gray by the time you get to enjoy it There is money to be made in the market, short and long term truckloads of it To be successful keep your investment and risk strategies simple and easy to read, analyze Understand where the risk is going at all times Nothing is worse than to look back at a group of strategies and think, where did the money all go Track what you can manage Diversify Diversify Diversify Have your ETF products, add some managed funds, toss in a few short strangles and condors, and pick up that ridiculously cheap I-don t-care-ifit-goes-to-zero stock, sell some bond calls, and buy some risk-free rate instruments Whatever the combination you put together, spread it out Cover your systemic risk in the broad indices and spread out the wealth to many areas, industries, and securities and futures products We have covered a great deal of the in uence of fund traders on the broad market throughout the book A nal thought to take from the discussion of risk regarding the funds is that they, in many cases, are a signi cant representation of the broader market sentiment Because funds represent chunks of capital from large and small investors, they are in themselves a market barometer

The bubbles of the 1999 and 2008 demonstrate that funds like the rest of market investors funds must perform to draw capital It is dif cult to say if and when the funds will have the same capital in uence on the market they have had in the past, but it stands to reason that what has happened before will likely happen again As a skilled investor in the new market the challenge will be to manage the systemic risk generated by swelling market capital in funds or any other new investment vehicle created for the future Some nal advice: Years of experience in option trading has demonstrated for me that the most successful methods involve a balancing act between short and long option premium Overall most option traders would agree that carrying a balance of option premium weighted to short or written options has a higher percentage of success This is also offset by those who have experienced a signi cant market run against a short option in which they lost signi cant capital In order to nd the balance and avoid many of the pitfalls there are some commons sense rules to short option trading: Track your short option value This means that you should be constantly aware of the total amount of short option premium written and what the reasonable risk is to that premium on a total account basis Scrutinize your delta We discussed delta at length on a individual trade basis, but what is your account delta on a total market basis Are you net long, short, neutral and by how many shares or contracts overall If the broad market fails, what is your total exposure By having a watch on your total exposure you can better manage systemic risk

Diversify neutral delta When working with short or written options, think in the same terms you do with investing in general, diversify When selling options consider not only neutral delta strategies such as the strangle, straddle, condor and butter y spreads, but doing these spreads in multiple markets with opposing objectives This method helps to ensure the exposure is less signi cant in sector or regional risk situations and may also help with systemic risk With this in mind, do not trade more than you can keep track of at any given time Bring home the premium As an option seller or writer it is easy to become over-con dent after a series of option expirations in your favor Set yourself a limit to the premium captured versus risk capital Some have had success at writing 50% or more of their determined amount to risk for any given period or expiration cycle In other words, if you have $5000 to risk, writing $2500 in premium is a expiration cycle If that cycle is short, the dollars and cents can become very exciting as can the risk, but it is important to set boundaries immediately as to your total risk in short premium or short option value

Summary

Advanced option trading is an essential skill for the successful advisor, investor, or trader now and in the future Honing your option knowledge and techniques will add signi cant resources to your market tool bag After many years of working with individual and professional traders and investors the biggest lesson I have learned is that there is never an end to the learning I hope you enjoyed Advanced Option Trading and please visit my website at wwwkkrauscom