MikeL 2:07 pm on Monday, March 5, 2018
Tags: SPXcampaign ( 2,265 ), SPYcraft ( 95 ), VIXIndicator ( 294 )

#spxcampaign I am curious if…

I am curious if there is a version of #SPXcampaign that does not require watching the monitor all day long?
I reviewed all posts on this site for #SPXcampaign going back to 2016 and noticed that Jeff has to do a lot of rolls and must stay on top of the action.

Going far out and down, does reduce the need to watch SPX every day, but it also produces small results.
Someone recommended going with a fewer contracts, but $50 to $100 wide, because it would be easier to manage a spread this wide.

In 2015 I was actively trading SPX spreads $20 wide and got wiped out in August.
Just trying to find something more consistent and less demanding. 🙂

Edit: I have a regular margin account, no portfolio margin.

Any suggestions?

#spycraft, #vixindicator

jdietz1954 5:05 pm on Monday, March 5, 2018

The problem I see with S&P is the lack of a stock. You can’t go short and take assignment if need be. One of the characteristics that made SVXY so attractive. At least to me. So there is the SPY, or the SDY if you only want the dividend payers. They have American style options though the premiums seem lacking not to mention liquidity for the SDY. There are other ETFs that track or mirror the S&P. I am looking at SPXL, Direxion Shares Trust S&P 500 3x Bull ETF for a PIE style trade. Another one I am aware of is SSO, Proshares Ultra S&P 500 ETF. I’m sure there is a boat load of these out there to fit every desire, account and risk tolerance offered up by many firms. I’m sure others more experienced than I will chime in with better suggestions. Good luck in your quest.
- MikeL 6:18 pm on Monday, March 5, 2018
  
  I would love to trade SPY, but the premium for spreads is almost non-existent for far OTM puts.
  Also, I would need to use 10X the number of contracts. I trade SPY with naked puts, but account margin gets overloaded. SPX is also not subject to bad reviews, so it would not drop just because someone does not like the performance.
Jeff 6:12 pm on Monday, March 5, 2018

The original #SPXcampaign is based on spread that are 5-weeks out, with short-strike deltas around .12-.15. The two April 6th spreads I sold today are part of that. I extend the campaign to sell much more aggressive spreads, which is definitely tougher to manage in volatile weeks like we’ve had since January 29, and also were pretty tough to manage on the call side in screamingly bullish periods like last October. It sounds what you did before may have been similar. August 2015 is what prompted me to develop the #VIXIndicator, which now largely drives the strategy and turned it non-directional to become much more directional over time.

I have been putting off a new webinar on the strategy because it keeps evolving. Hopefully I can get it together soon!
hcgdavis 6:16 pm on Monday, March 5, 2018

Take a look at the #spycraft trades. The original premise with these is similar to the #spxcampaign but using SPY (10 time smaller), better bid-ask spreads, huge liquidity, and easy to hedge if needed.

Also working on a recovery technique for those moves past the short of the short option on the credit spreads.

Stay tuned, will probably start some again in 1-2 weeks as soon as my LNG positions close.