Tool for Tracking My Positions

Over the past few years I have been working to evolve a system for tracking my positions that doesn’t take a lot of time. It has been informative and helped evolve my trading practices. I am able to download my current portfolio and daily trades (custom date in historical trades using current day as the starting date) from my Schwab accounts. Once they are downloaded the google sheets program does the magic and gives me my performance for each of the positions generating a graph like the ones below.

The graphs give me the cumulative daily profit for the stock, option(s), dividends and net of the three.

Ideally the black line (net profit) should be above the blue line (profit/loss from the stock). As you can see in the charts below it is a challenge to get the black line above the blue line. When the stock price drops and I make money on the short calls it out performs the stock but when the stock goes on a run the loss on the options tend to offset the gains.

I try and hold my stock positions for 12 months so I only pay long term capital gains when I sell them (which can be a challenge based on the tax rules). Lots of rolls on the options. Some weekly, some monthly.

I use Schwab for the trading and downloads.

Hope you find this interesting and it might give you some ideas. I track about forty positions between two accounts.

#tracking-trades

Sourcing Investment Ideas

Based on the recent posting by Jeff about “sharing” I wanted to share a source I have been using for investment ideas. I am not affiliated in any way with the site other than a follower.

Site is CoveredCallAdvisor.com.

Author of the site does a great job of identifying covered call opportunities. In a typical month he will come up with five to ten trades. He posts on the same day he trades with detailed explanations on his reason and goal for the trade.

Although I don’t follow his trades exactly (I am a bit more optimistic on my strike prices) I feel he does an excellent job in finding the trades. I currently have five open positions following his trades (all covered calls). I typically roll my strikes and keep my positions open for longer periods of time. He is more of a single position strategy person and doesn’t roll very often. His success rate is amazingly high.

Check him out….it has been a good source for me.

Hope this can help someone make some money!

IB Account in 2021

Good morning and best wishes for a successful year of investing in 2022.

Despite best efforts my covered call efforts failed to beat the SPX in 2021. I was ahead until Omicron impact in Nov/Dec. Made some money….but it would be nice to see the time and effort result in a return higher than the index. Maybe this year!

IB account in October…..positions and performance….added an additional tracking which seems to be helping

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/11/02/oct-ib-account-performance/

#coveredcalls

SPY Iron Condor Ladder Update….not much return….yet

The SPY IC Ladder started in Feb has shown significant swings in profit (high of $8,000 to low of $(5,000)…. I would not call it a winning strategy just yet. Annualized return as of Friday was 6%…..not worth the capital at risk. To date I was primarily selling the 45 DTE IC’s (or when they became available) and closing them around 21 DTE. Typically selling body width of 30 and wing width of 10. I stopped selling if the IV dropped below 14 (more recent development). I was rarely achieving the 1/3 value of the wing spread that TT recommend. Currently letting the DTE run lower to see if it helps. I haven’t been doing a lot of “adjustments”…..at the cottage for the summer and the internet connection is a little painful for rolling SPY spreads.

If anyone is interested in the complete list of trades to analyze let me know and I would be happy to share.

Open positions in the bottom table. Would like to see a pull back as current price has pushed a couple of the short calls ITM.

#spyladder

Update on CFLT Position

Couple of weeks ago I posted about opening a new CC shortly after CFLT IPO. Stock price did go up after establishing the position only to start a sustained decline……until last week when the stock recovered.

Last week was an interesting time for the banks/analysts to come out with strong upgrades and new target prices pushing the price up …..considering the IPO lock up expires on Monday……

Little nervous heading into next week so we wrote ITM calls at $40 (Sep).

Position looks good today with a 54% annualized return…..might feel different next Saturday….hopefully not but can’t say I have a lot of trust in the bankers…….

Black line in the graph is the net of the stock and option profitability. They were mostly offsetting until the last week.

#coveredcalls

CC’s on Confluent (CFLT)

First time in this. Recent IPO. Stock was at $43.38

08/20/2021 $40 Call at $7.23

08/20/2021 $45 Call at $4.99

08/20/2021 $50 Call at $3.31

#cflt, #coveredcalls

SPY IC Ladder Update…continuing to improve

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/06/10/update-on-spy-ladder/

#spy-2, #ironcondor

Assigned on NIO covered call on Friday….will reopen new position

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/06/02/assigned-on-nio-on-5-29-21-profit-of-24073-in-258-days-return-on-capital-of-84-9-or-120-annualized/

#coveredcalls-2

Life got in the way yesterday and missed rolling the short calls…assigned on DVN

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/05/29/assigned-on-dvn-profit-of-1070-in-8-days-return-on-capital-of-4-4-or-200-annualized/

Update on SPY Ladder Strategy….lot of activity….not much to show for it yet….

The SPY Ladder Strategy is not contributing much to the account….so far. Hopefully things will improve with experience.

We started the ladder in Feb selling March IC’s. As we approach 21 DTE we close and open new positions 45-50 days out (if available). We have opened 302 positions……600+ trades including closing. So far Schwab is making more money than I am! Commissions are slightly higher than the profits so far.

What am I learning….

  1. It is really hard not to adjust….which I should not be doing. Adjusting takes incremental investment. The IC’s are each defined risk….and I should let them ride. I have rolled up the untested side on a number of occasions but the end result is narrowing the spread of the body. When the SPY moves in the other direction it doesn’t take long to put the rolled position under pressure.
  2. Need to establish wider “width” in the IC body. At least 30 delta. Premiums are much more attractive at 20…..always tempting to go narrower.
  3. Very hard to make money if volatility goes below 15 when establishing a new position. Need to be more disciplined and refrain from new positions with SPY IV at 12-13.
  4. Positions are carrying unrealized gain of $2,547……which is promising if we can realize a good percent of it.
  5. Schwab platform isn’t the easiest to work with when rolling spreads….figuring out how much a credit for the untested side so you know how much you can spend rolling up the tested side without incremental investment…time consuming with lots of “fiddling”. If you have suggestion on how to do this better in Schwab feel free to comment! It looks much quicker on TT….I have gotten quicker and now have an IC Roll Layout with two All-in-one boxes open on the right and the positions on the left.
  6. I started increasing the sizes….initially they were 2 and 3 contracts….now 5 to 8.
  7. Need to get better with establishing skewed positions…

Graph below shows the daily P/L for the strategy. Table on the right is profit and return. 8% annualized return needs to improve. Would like to get this to a minimum of 20%. Willing to take on higher risk (bigger positions) if the return can be improved.

Hope this is interesting for some of you. No plans to stop yet…….

#iron-condor, #spyladder

Amazon Covered Call Strategy- One Year In

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/05/18/amazon-covered-call-strategy-one-year-profit-of-97760-44-annualized/

#amzn-2, #coveredcallcampaign

CC on CVS Working out so far….

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/05/03/covered-call-on-cvs-positive-contribution-from-stock-option-premiums-and-dividend-unrealized-profit-of-1098-5-1-return-in-49-days-or-37-8-annualized/

#coveredcalls

Trying to counter Lumber prices!

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/05/01/lumber-prices-are-ridiculous-cc-on-wy-weyhauser-can-we-make-enough-on-the-cc-to-offset-some-of-inflated-lumber-prices-on-reno/

#coveredcalls

CC vs CC + BuPS on ABT and LNC

Comparison after 300 days ….positions remain open

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/04/25/covered-call-versus-covered-call-bull-put-spread/

I should have mentioned in the original post that if the stock declines in value the BuPS adds to the loss…..

#bups, #coveredcalls

Tracking Dividend Stocks for Covered Calls

Appreciate all the posts and helpful culture of the site. Hoping this might help some out.

Over the past couple of weeks I increased my focus on writing CC’s against stocks with attractive dividends. I created the attached Google sheet to help out.

Worksheet has a fair amount of automation. User is responsible to add a ticker in the proper week from Jan to Mar. Ticker gets added in the appropriate spot for Q2,Q3 and Q4. Income sheet looks up the ticker on Yahoo and returns exdiv date and yield (yield is shown as a negative for some reason as exdate and yield are in the same Yahoo cell with yield in brackets). User adds the number of shares for the ticker on the income sheet. Worksheet calculates the monthly, quarterly and annual dividend income for the tickers you own.

i find it to be a good visual tool so you can see what is coming and not get shares called away because you miss the exdiv date. It also allows me to quickly identify potential candidates on my list.

Yahoo link seems to work well….but it can be slow. If I like using I might purchase a more reliable data source.c

A picture of what the first page looks like is below. Feel free to make suggestions.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IpL-ogLz3YJQKfdKE7OtuIEaleRoBcCYHDCaK_dEbVY/edit?usp=sharing

#coveredcall, #dividendcapture

SPY Ladder after 74 days…not making money yet….

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/04/24/spy-ladder-more-learning-more-tuition-costs-after-74-days/

#ironcondor, #spy

11 Months into AMAZ Covered Call Campaign

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/04/22/amaz-covered-call-strategy-after-11-months-and-100-rolls/

#amaz, #coveredcallcampaign

NIO and VIAC Covered Calls

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/04/21/nio-covered-call-hanging-in-despite-price-drop-viac-cc-not-working-so-well/

#coveredcalls-2

ABT CC….ABT misses on revenue….might be opportunity to add

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/04/20/update-on-abt-covered-call-earnings-announcement-today-could-be-opportunity-to-add-to-position/

#coveredcalls, #dividendcapture

If you want some entertainment on a Saturday morning check out this post on Reddit

The post has over 100 comments referencing the ‘No one in my real life…..’ comments are probably applicable to most of the traders in this group…..sorry for not creating a direct link and suggesting you search for in on Reddit….but it is worth a few minutes of your time

SPY Ladder Update…..going the wrong way!

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/04/10/update-on-spy-iron-condor-strategy-losing-175-despite-a-lot-of-effort-and-trading-schwab-might-be-winning-on-commission/

#spy-2, #ironcondor

SPY Ladder…..

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/04/04/update-on-spy-ladder-four-ics-closed-five-open-profit-of-2255-after-47-days/

Assigned on NUE…..evaluating dividend capture strategy on series of stocks to see if it is scalable…

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/03/30/assigned-on-nue-covered-call-profit-of-240-in-6-days-1-return-on-capital-or-44-annualized/

#assignment, #dividendcapture, #sleepatnight

Assigned on SDC

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/03/29/assigned-on-sdc-in-401k-profit-660-in-14-days-2-1-return-or-55-8-annualized/

#sdc, #coveredcalls

Why we do covered calls….

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/03/25/price-decline-in-sdc-smile-direct-club-not-helping/

#sdc, #coveredcalls

Closed Position on MOS….IC rescued CC

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/03/25/closed-mos-covered-call-iron-condor-position-loss-of-80-would-have-been-much-larger-loss-without-ic/

#coveredcalls, #ironcondor

Closed MU Position

#mu, #coveredcalls, #ironcondor

A bright spot on down day…..

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/03/23/update-on-iron-condor-learning-strategy-shutdown-ic-on-mu-today/

#mu, #ironcondor, #tastyworks

Update on SDC Covered Call Strategy after 422 Days….

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/03/21/covered-call-strategy-with-sdc-smile-direct-club-after-422-days-144230-unrealized-profit-123-return-or-107-annualized-return/

Smile Direct Club has been a good candidate for writing covered calls against. The weekly option premiums are excellent. To date the combination is generating a return of 123% or 107% annualized. Stock price has dropped significantly from Jan ($14+) to Mar ($11). Option premiums have helped offset some of lost profit on the stock. Overall this remains one of our key positions.

#sdc-2, #coveredcalls

Assigned on INMD, good trade but wasn’t ready for the shares to get called yet

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/03/20/assigned-on-inmd-profit-of-6675-in-66-days-25-return-or-140-annualized/

#coveredcalls

Despite trying a lot of different strategies in Schwab accounts my IB Account with primarily covered calls is outperforming……

Sort of frustrating to spend most of the trading time managing and experimenting with different trading strategies in my Schwab accounts and have the IB account that I don’t spend much time on outperform by a significant margin. I either need to improve my trading skills or not trade as much!

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/03/16/ib-account-update-performing-much-better-than-larger-schwab-accounts-where-i-invest-far-more-time-to-manage/

Short term CC dividend capture strategy….trying something different….not sure if it will be sustainable over time

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/03/11/wmb-covered-call-dividend-capture-assigned-day-before-ex-div-return-on-capital-2-6-in-2-days-or-476-annualized-but-no-dividend/

#dividendcapture

Doing my best to pare, protect and figure out how to protect the capital and make money in a down market…..

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/26/trying-to-protect-versus-making-more/

Update on Put Strategies

Gaining experience with IC, BuPS and DiagBuPS……learning on the fly…..so far so good….

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/21/update-on-put-strategies/

#bullputspreads, #ironcondors

Update on AMZN Covered Call Strategy after 277 Days

AMZN stock price over the past 25 days is net down….allowing the short options to do what they are supposed to do in a covered call strategy. Three more months to get the stock gain to long term.

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/21/update-on-amzn-covered-call-strategy-after-277-days-92620-roi-81-or-107-annualized/

#amzn-2, #coveredcallcampaign, #coveredcalls

New CC in RTX – looking to capture dividend next Friday

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/19/new-cc-in-rtx-raytheon/

#rtx, #coveredcalls, #dividendcapture

IC on ABT and DXCM….paying to learn???

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/13/iron-condor-ic-on-abt-dxcm/

#ic, #ironcondor

Covered Call on NIO – Update and Progress – Interesting ride!

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/11/covered-call-on-nio-unrealized-profit-of-56870/

#coveredcalls-2, #nio-3

Closed Covered Call position on DXCM prior to earnings announcement after hours. Profit of $4,252.

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/11/closed-out-dxcm-cc-profit-of-4252/

#dxcm-2, #coveredcalls

Closed BuPS on PINS

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/09/closing-bups-on-pins-profit-1051-in-27-days-return-on-capital-of-21-or-284-annualized/

#bups

Iron Condor on CHWY

This is only the second or third Iron Condor I have traded…..based on Tastytrade recommendation.

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/09/chwy-iron-condor-mar-19-75-95-125-145-net-credit-5-29/

#ironcondor, #tastytradefollow

Closed CC on CFG, Picked up Dividend

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/08/closed-cc-on-cfg-profit-of-1-7-in-13-days-47-8-annualized/

#coveredcalls, #dividendcapture

BuPS on PTON….looking or a bounce

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/05/new-bull-put-spread-on-pton/

#pton, #bups

New CC on IBM – goes ex div Feb 9

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/04/new-covered-call-on-ibm/

#ibm, #coveredcalls, #dividend

Adding Diag BuPS to CC Position on ATEC

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/04/new-diagonal-bull-put-spread-on-atec/

#bups, #coveredcalls, #diagonalspreads

New CC on DHI

I got tired of chasing BYND stock in a covered call strategy….too much daily movement….something a bit more conservative….

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/02/02/new-covered-call-on-dhi-home-builder/

#dhi, #coveredcalls

New CC on KBH

First time taking a position with home builders. Good dividend coming up on Feb 3. Plan is to hold and roll for a few months.

#coveredcall

Graphs on Individual Positions Over Time in IB Account

Tables/Graphs representing each of the positions over time. Good representation of where the profits are being generated.

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/01/23/individual-positions-in-ib-account-and-return-over-time/

#coveredcalls, #return-over-time

Good week in market = good week in IB Account

Positions and Friday trades at bottom of post.

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/01/23/ib-account-wk-ending-1-22-21-new-high-of-381160-16564-in-the-week-4-5/

#coveredcallcampaign, #coveredcalls

Summary of NIO CC through 115 Days

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/01/10/covered-call-on-nio-generating-unrealized-gain-of-23447-in-115-days-129-or-410-annualized/

#coveredcalls-2, #nio-2

Summary of ATEC CC + Naked Put

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/01/10/atec-position-covered-call-naked-put-generating-positive-results-unrealized-gain-of-1687-in-28-days-roi-28-9-or-377-annualized/

#coveredcalls, #naked-put

Good start to 2021…..at least for one week!

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/01/10/ib-account-week-ending-1-8-21-17979-or-4-19-return/

#coveredcalls

Thanks for the ideas and comments in 2020……great site, great sharing. Best option trading site on the web!

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2021/01/03/ib-account-up-32611-or-9-9-in-december-2020-finished-up-163989-or-83-7/

#coveredcalls, #ib, #return, #stock-options

Dec 31 $3250 Call Vertical Roll to $3310, $60 increase in strike price, Debit $33.48 Stock at $3312

#amzn-2, #amzn, #coveredcalls, #vertical-roll

Opening Transaction PTON BuPS Credit $1.32, Stock at $58.20

#bullputspreads, #pton-2

Assigned on EW Covered Call

Not sure it was the right time to let the shares go…..but had to manage margin creep up do to “roll ups” on Friday.

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/12/28/assigned-on-ew-covered-call-profit-of-3498-in-63-days-roi-of-8-8-or-51-annualized/

#coveredcalls, #ew

Not sure this week will be as profitable as the last couple!

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/12/21/ib-account-week-ending-12-18-20-new-high-new-position-on-bmy/

Update on BCRX CC and adjustment post drug approval

#coveredcalls

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/12/07/good-week-for-bcrx-position-after-122-days-unrealized-profit-of-29300-roi-of-76-3-or-125-annualized/

Update on NIO Covered Call Strategy

#coveredcalls #NIO

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/12/01/update-on-nio-covered-call-strategy-after-77-days-unrealized-profit-of-15175-roi-of-83-5-or-396-annualized/

Update on STE Covered Call Strategy after 180 Days

#coveredcalls $STE

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/12/01/covered-call-strategy-on-ste-after-180-days-unrealized-profit-of-10045-32-6-roi-or-66-annualized/

#coveredcallcampaign

IB Nov Update and Positions

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/11/30/good-nov-in-ib-account-but-not-back-to-high/

#coveredcalls

Smasty – looking for input/comment

I established a CC + Put Protection (*.98) strategy for SDC. SDC has moved up from $9.72 to $12.10. I rolled the short calls from $9.50 to $11 to $12. The Put was at $8.50 and it is now worth $0. Would you usually roll the Put up when the stock runs up as the appreciation is no longer protected or just let the stock get called (assuming it stays above $12) away and do a reset.

#protectiveput, #2-i, #coveredcalls

Naked Puts to Covered Call on SDC

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/11/25/new-approach-to-entering-a-cc-position-selling-naked-put-getting-assigned-then-selling-calls/

Thanks Option Iceman.

#coveredcallssdc-assignment, #nakedputs

ABT Covered Call Strategy Progressing Well

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/11/16/covered-call-strategy-on-abt-progressing-well-profit-of-22682-in-174-days-or-83-174-annualized-31-rolls-of-the-short-calls/

#abt-2, #coveredcalls-2

REGN BuCS – 9 Rolls and still a challenge

We have been tracking our REGN BuCS since it was established on Oct 12. It remains a challenge…..

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/11/16/regn-bull-call-spread-a-challenge-so-far/

#bucs-2, #regn

Wild ride over past 30 days…..definitely need to learn more about handling volatility around earnings

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/11/12/ib-account-down-from-high-up-from-dip-over-past-30-days/

#coveredcalls

Last Week and Oct/YTD Results – Tough week/month

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/11/02/tough-week-and-oct-month-end/

DXCM drops $90 after good earnings announcement…..

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/10/29/dxcm-hard-to-understand-a-90-drop-and-how-we-responded/

#coveredcalls, #dxcm

Trade and Account activity Wk ending 10/23 – lots of diagonal down rolls….

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/10/24/summary-of-account-activity-wk-ending-10-23-risk-and-margin-reduction-via-diagonal-roll-downs/

#coveredcalls-2

ABT

STO ABT Oct 30 $111 Call Credit $1.31 to reestablish covered call yesterday

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/10/23/follow-up-to-abt-post-on-10-21-about-buying-back-oct-23-107-calls/

#abt, #coveredcalls

Adjusting ABT Covered Call following earnings announcement…..logic and action taken

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/10/22/adjusting-abt-covered-call-in-reaction-to-announcement-of-good-quarterly-earnings-and-raised-guidance-and-stock-drops-2/

#coveredcalls, #fuzzy

ABT BTC Oct 23 $107 Calls…..Abbott earnings good…raised full year guidance and stock dropped $2….so I bought the calls back for $.85 ….looking for a bounce and will cover shares again. STO on 10/15 for $2.87.

Schwab Account Week Ending 10/16 – Trades and Positions

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/10/18/schwab-account-wk-ending-10-16-trades-and-positions-24245-or-1-in-the-week/

Covered Calls – IB Positions and Trades 10/16

https://coveredcallswithjeff.wordpress.com/2020/10/18/ib-account-wk-ending-10-16-trades-and-positions-13917-or-4-2-in-the-week/

#coveredcalls-2