The Option Alpha Podcast

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show135

Today we'll condense potentially an entire semester of financial engineering into a single podcast episode. The goal being to help completely understand how implied volatility works, why we need it, where it comes from, and how we can profit from it as option sellers. This show is a little longer than normal but I think the time spent walking through the foundational elements of implied volatility and it's impact on option pricing are critical for anyone interested in generating long-term income as an option seller. I encourage you also to listen to this episode multiple times if needed. Enjoy!

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show134

Nobody's trading or investing journey is a straight road or easy path. We never just magically trip into a perfect system or investing philosophy without a couple bumps along the way. Today's podcast focuses heavily on overcoming the stigma attached to being "wrong" and having the humility and grace to learn from trading mistakes and transition into new habits.  In addition, I want to describe in more detail the two major mistakes that I've made over the last couple years with regard to trading that have changed the way I look at positions and my portfolio. Both of these have been discussed before in various formats but never in one place under this topic. I hope that by sharing my story, it helps give you the courage to make changes or alterations to your own options strategy for the better.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show133

With the rising popularity of weekly option contracts, many investors are choosing to trade weekly bull call spread option strategies as opposed to simply going long stock. The thought process is that by trading the weekly contracts you are able to more quickly adjust and profit from moves in the overall market. On today's show, we use our backtesting software to analyze the results of a weekly bull call spread in DIA and its performance compared to a monthly bull call spread in DIA. Naturally, this options buying case study will be very interesting for those investors who feel they have some sort of directional edge when markets are trending higher. 

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show132

Some traders wrongly assume that if they can't trade unlimited risk option strategies, such as straddles and strangles, that they should just avoid trading altogether. Today however, I want to present four great alternative trades to some of the more common unlimited risk options strategies and help you learn how to convert these trades into their synthetic counterparts. The goal of all conversions is to turn a trade from unlimited risk to defined risk so that the broker will allow it in your account or based on your options approval level.  I think that you'll find after you listen to today show it's much easier to trade unlimited risk strategies using a synthetic, risk-defined alternative than  you might have otherwise thought.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show131

One of the more advanced techniques options traders use to reduce risk and increase the probability of success of the trade, is to roll contracts from one month to the next. Today's show focuses exclusively on rolling options forward, by showing you two different case studies in TLT and IWM. Both trades took multiple months to turn a profit and multiple rolls of our contracts.  I'm going to also go out on a limb and say that this podcast is potentially one of the most favorite ones I've recorded because I truly believe this concept can help change trades that go against you for the better - and turn losers into winners.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show130

Seems most traders constantly struggle with getting option trades filled. And since we never suggest using "market orders" as a quick fix for entry problems, today I'm offering five quick tips for smoother option order execution. It's a simple framework you can walk through the next time you're having trouble getting a trade filled in the market. Hint: #2 is the most common mistake and easiest one to fix right away.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show129

As options traders focused on income generation, it's important that we consistently work towards maintaining a diversified options portfolio. But are there any "earning warning signs" that we are starting to lose our grip and balance? In today's podcast, I've put together four things you can monitor so you don't wake up tomorrow and realize you've got a non-diversified portfolio that's in need of major repairs. These early warning signals can help you adapt more quickly to an ever changing market by making smarter trades and adjustments.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show128

How important is picking the right stock market direction when trading options? Depending on how you trade, it can be either vitally important or not important at all. Today's podcast offers some insight and examples of why higher trading frequency and why averaging down (or up) around the market creates an environment in which market direction becomes more irrelevant the longer you trade. As retail traders, we want to try to replicate more and more frequent "resets" of our overall break-evens which in turn lead to less dependence on the market direction for profits.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show127

You're ready to place an option trade and you're confident the stock is a good candidate. Now what? With dozens of contract months and hundreds of option strike prices to choose from - which ones do you select? In today's podcast, we'll help bring some more light to the "dynamic approach" we now use at Option Alpha for each and every trade we place. The framework and concepts around dynamic contract month and option strike price selection can help dramatically improve your long-term performance and reduce portfolio volatility.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show126

We're all busy; with work, family, school, kids, etc. And although many people might lead you to believe you have to be in front of the screen all day in order to manage multiple option positions, the reality it's not true. Yes, you do need to have access to the markets in order to trade right now (not in the future though), but you don't have to be glued to the computer screen all day. You can use some simple triggers and alerts to keep tabs on your portfolio while you are away or at work and be just as effective, if not more, than working at the trading desk all day. Inside today's show, we'll break down some of the best resources and tips on managing your portfolio with limited time.