The one bet I will not be making is that the stock market finishes election week anywhere near where it began the week.
In other words, there is a high likelihood of a large directional move following the election. And there will likely be some epic whipsaws along the way.
As such, it feels to me that options traders should start building a good mix of both bullish and bearish bets, as well as a wide variety of expirations so as to mute the volatility likely to be introduced to our portfolios.
I don't think we want to be too overweighted on delta-neutral positions (though I think it's a good practice to have one or two on at all times). I do think it is prudent to have some long-premium bets on that can return 5-10x in the direction of the trend. Simple long calls and long puts will do the trick.
I do not recommend attempting to pick bottoms and tops. It can be a dangerous game.
Yes, when you occasionally get one right you can make a killing. But we also put ourselves at risk at getting killed. Especially fading short squeezes, and double especially if you're doing it via getting short common stock.
Smart options traders, however, have an advantage here. We can define our risks precisely. We're going to take advantage of this feature with today's trade, a bet on the unexpected.
I just got done with 2 days at Stocktoberfest in Coronado, CA - right across the bridge from downtown San Diego.
Every time I'm back there I think about all fun times we've had in Coronado over the years and all the stories from the past.
It's important to remember how we got here if we have any chance of moving forward and building on top of everything that we already have today.
This community is special. Our predecessors didn't have any of this.
The fact that I can fly out there with my friends, to one of the most beautiful places on the planet, talk markets, rates, business and meme tokens is an absolute joke.
It's not even fair.
So it's up to us to take advantage.
I did.
I got talk retail stocks with Jeff Macke.
Pearlman and I discussed the health benefits of avocados.
We debated market breadth and sector rotation with new people I had never met before.
Below is the 6th ASC Mastermind Lab Course. These are special videos that will be made available throughout the duration of the 12-week course featuring conversations with professionals from across Wall Street discussing topics in their expertise.
I wasn't ready to move on from intermarket analysis just yet. It's too important. So I called up Jason Perz, the newest All Star Charts analyst, and someone who is an expert in the relationship between bonds, commodities, and currencies.
Jason and I discussed these relationships at length, how these markets have reacted to major historical events, and how a move in one market could impact another.
We had a delta-neutral options position on the books that we stopped out of this week. Thankfully, it was not a big loss. It felt like the right idea, but the wrong instrument.
So today's trade is a similar trade in a stock from the same sector. We're going to take advantage of a possible continued consolidation and get out before their next earnings event.