Blog: Blog – Option Alpha

There's a lot of research to support the usage of trend indicators as simple risk reduction elements that can be layered onto an existing strategy. However, the trouble was that, in the past, investors had to monitor the trend and execute the appropriate trade reversals when the trend changed. With automation, we can now offload […] The post...

Trading short naked puts (i.e., put selling or put writing) can be an effective and profitable options trading strategy. The attraction of naked put selling is often the ability to collect premium with a margin for error if the stock drops while having the ability to purchase stock at a discount to the current market […] The post Hedging Short Naked Puts appeared...

It's well documented that not only do investors classically chase performance, ultimately yielding sub-par performance in pursuit, but they also do not have enough patience to stick with strategies long enough. My hope is that it ends today. You can elevate yourself above all this and objectively look at strategies for what their expected outcome […] The post...

This week, I'm thrilled to welcome back a very popular guest, Cameron Skinner, to the Option Alpha podcast. Way back on Show 61, Cameron and I talked at length about his consistent and religious process for trading options-even though his "day job" as a real estate investor takes the majority of this focus and attention. […] The post...

One of the beautiful things about shifting to fully automated trading on the new Option Alpha platform is the ability to finally clone and replicate entire trading strategies using bot templates. Bot templates allow anyone to build a trading strategy and seamlessly share the structure and details of that strategy with one-click. Today, I want […] The post...

Back on Show 187, we tackled the top 15 questions we consistently receive around options expiration. Today, we're taking a slightly different approach and addressing head-on the 18 biggest questions and concerns traders have around options assignment and exercising, whether on or before expiration itself. Regardless of your trading experience level, whether a seasoned investor […] The post...

We're all subject to investment biases, often multiple biases working simultaneously, trying subconsciously to derail us. Whether we offload the actual order execution and management to an auto-trading platform or not, the human element of investing still impacts the decisions we make and the strategies we choose to execute or not. Until we take the […] The post...

One of the most impactful things you can do for your portfolio is to add money or capital to it. A consistent and persistent schedule of funding your account, even with small amounts, gives you the added boost that compounds over time. But, we all know this already, don't we? Why don't we do it, […] The post A Zillion Ways You Can...

Today’s show is a massive announcement; we are officially announcing that we have set our launch dates for our new auto-trading platform. On today's show, we’re going to answer some common questions that we've been getting about the new platform. We're also going to start going through some of the features you will love about […] The post...

Ah, taxes, a dreaded but necessary part of investing and trading. Although you might be inclined to skip this week's show, I'd encourage you to dive in because, even for me personally, this discussion helped clarify and re- solidify mildly opaque concepts. After all, tax concepts and terminology can get complicated fast. Our goal is to […] The post...

We get a lot of questions about options expiration - hundreds and hundreds each week. Yet, the same vital few seem to float to the top consistently, so we're pulling these 15 questions into this week's podcast episode to help you understand and effectively navigate options expiration. In the off chance, we didn't answer your […] The post...

Summer vacations are in full swing. As everyone rushes to their favorite social distancing hot spot, traders are often left wondering what to do with their positions and trades while away. Since we cannot build automated and trigger-based strategies yet, though it's coming soon from Option Alpha, we wanted to help with a simple but […] The post...

Filling option trades can often feel like pulling teeth. While some trades and orders get filled quickly and without issue, others are incredibly stubborn and hard to get filled. To add to your frustration, the entire order execution process appears to be just another confusing black box. There's seemingly no rhyme or reason why this […] The post...

Important Note: This post will be the central hub for updates on the new platform. It'll be updated as needed and as new milestones are hit and/or when feedback is requested. The newest updates will be added to the top of the post with older updates pushed lower for reference. We encourage you to bookmark […] The post Option...

Adjusting trades that move against you can be hard enough. Choosing how to adjust and when to pull the trigger complicates an otherwise simple trade to start with. Now, throw in an early assignment to the mix, and you've got quite the convoluted option trade on your hands. Sounds daunting already doesn't it? Fear not. […] The post Adjustments...

Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. This classic Buffett quote has echoed through the ranks of investors for decades. But does the data support the methodology? Does investor sentiment, which for many investors is widely considered a contrarian indicator, have enough predictive power to warrant our time and attention? […] The post...

Greed, fear, FOMO, anxiety, panic, over-confidence, stubbornness, impatience. These are just a few of the many emotional and mental states that traders find themselves in. And while we cannot avoid these emotions and thought processes, we can learn to manage them through emotional intelligence. This week's podcast was curated to help you learn how to […] The post...