#Fibonacciqueen #SPXcampaign Interesting fib graph on where the SPX has been and where it could go.
http://www.fibonacciqueen.com/public/SPX-updated-8.cfm
Tag Archives: SPXcampaign
SPX put spread
I was pretty light on the put side so I decided to put this one on at close to 2 standard deviations away, and below the August low.
Sold $SPX Dec 31 1865/1840 BuPS @ 1.25
SPX Stop
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Jan 8th 1910/1885 put spreads for 2.95. Sold for 1.30 on Monday.
SPX call spread roll for profit
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Dec 17th 2165/2190 call spreads for .10. Sold for 1.25 on Nov 17th.
STO $SPX Dec 17th 2125/2150 call spreads for 1.20.
This is basically taking profit on one spread then selling another spread as a bonus, but it can also be looked at as rolling for profit. I know the FOMC minutes next week could send markets soaring, but I will be okay with having to deal with the call side, since the put side has been the troubled side lately.
SPX same week call spread
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Dec 11th 2085/2110 call spreads for .75. After missing the chance yesterday, I still wanted to get some credit on the non-threatened side of this week’s condor. Still perilously holding the 2025/2000 puts.
SPX rolling
#SPXcampaign #Rolling STO $SPX Dec 31st 1900/1875 put spreads for 1.65. This is a roll from spreads stopped out last week. Despite the downside warning, I still feel we will continue consolidation into FOMC and monthly expiration next week. If I am wrong, that’s what stops are for.
SPX call spread closed
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Dec 31st 2175/2200 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.50 on Nov 30th.
SPX put spread
#SPXcampaign At 9:20 PT, STO $SPX Jan 8th 1870/1845 put spreads for 1.25.
VIX signal fired
$VIX just hit 19.20, which is 50% above the October 28th low of 12.80. If we hit 19.80, that will be 25% above Tuesday’s close, which will be a second signal and yet another Downside Warning.
SPX same week condor
#SPXcampaign Since I bollocksed up the first one by selling only the put side too early on Monday (stopped out yesterday), trying this again with much less time for things to go wrong.
STO $SPX Dec 11th 2025/2000 puts spreads for 1.50.
Selling SPX Dec 11th 2105/2130 call spreads, working on a fill for .70 or higher. If I can’t get that I will drop down to 2100/2125.
I think we will continue these volatile swings into next week’s FOMC, but this week’s wildness shouldn’t threaten these strikes. Nonetheless, stop will be set at 2.50 for each side.
SPX call spread
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Jan 8th 2160/2185 call spreads for 1.25, with SPX at 2060. This is the first of two call spreads I will sell for this expiry.
SPX spread STOPPED
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Dec 11th 2035/2015 put spreads for 2.60. I had a conditional stop-limit order on this that somehow executed when condition was not met. I am on phone with broker now trying to sort out. Condition was SPX below 2063, placed at 10:50am ET. As you can see, it has been above that level since then (as of this writing at 11:32 ET). Trade closed at 10:59, filled for 2.60 on a 2.85 limit order. Not a happy camper. (although I’ll be okay with it if we drop back below 2063!)
SPX same week spread
#SPXcampaign, regarding my $SPX Dec 11th 2035/2015 spread sold yesterday, went into the hole with it this morning but decided not to panic on a morning flush. Bounce now has it back below 3.00, so I will reinstate the stop now and get out if this rally is short-lived. Still looking to sell the call side for a condor.
#SPXcampaign STO SPX DEC2 15…
#SPXcampaign STO SPX DEC2 15 (12/11/2015) 2010/1985 BuPS @1.10 early morning
SPX put spread
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Jan 8th 1910/1885 put spreads for 1.30, with SPX at 2077. This is the first of two put spreads and two call spreads I plan to sell this week for the Jan 8th expiry.
SPX same-week condor
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Dec 11th 2035/2015 put spreads for 1.25. Will add the call side with any move higher. Idea is to get 2.25 premium or better for the condor, with a 3.00 stop on each side, meaning max loss for the week is .75.
VIX warnings
Today’s strength seems to indicate that the immediate downside danger is over. However, since these $VIX warnings fired twice within a month, it is likely there is some pain coming. These signals often can come weeks or months before a correction. With December often being a lighter, bullish month, be careful with your January positions as I would imagine more volatility is waiting until then.
More rolling…
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Dec 24th 2155/2180 call spreads for 1.35. This is partial roll out of Dec 24th put spread stopped yesterday. Will add more next week.
What a difference a day makes
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Dec 31st 2165/2190 call spreads for 1.25. Second call spread for this expiry; first one was sold at Monday’s open (2175/2200).
SPX, second part of that roll
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Jan 8th 2175/2200 call spreads for 1.00. 1.5x position size, paired with 1890/1865 put spread below. Completes rollout of stopped Dec 31st spread.
SPX partial roll
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Jan 8th 1890/1865 put spreads for 1.40. This is part of an iron condor roll from the stopped 12/31 put spread from yesterday. I will look to sell a call spread as well on further strength. This is 1.5x position size, seeking at least 2.15 in premium to make up for 3.30 cost of the the stop.
Good morning…
#VIXIndicator Yesterday The $VIX indicator developed for the #SPXcampaign fired a Downside Warning. This was due to a 25% rise over Tuesday’s close, and also a 50% rise from the latest VIX low on 10/28. This happened on Nov 13th as well, but then retraced back down as $SPX rallied. These are the first times since the indicator was developed that we have traded through it in real time. In backtesting, the Warning usually was followed by a correction, but sometimes it would be several weeks later. Today, we have the jobs report which could rally the market and nullify the signal, or it could lead to further downside. Watch your stops, protect your capital, take opportunities when they appear.
SPX put spread STOP
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Dec 24th 1950/1925 put spreads for 2.90.
VIX signal fired
The $VIX surpassed 18.34, which is 25% above Tuesday’s close. This is one of two signals we need to fire a Downside Warning on the #SPXcampaign. Next signal would be 19.20.
Additionally, this is the second time we’ve had signals fire since the VIX low on 10/28. A Warning did go into effect on 11/6, but since VIX retraced significantly that warning was nullified. However, because VIX has not reached a new low, we can consider any signals now slightly more urgent.
SPX stopped
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Dec 31st 1960/1935 put spreads for 3.30. Tried to get out at a lower price on the last bounce, but it was too minor. Will look to roll if we go lower today.
#SPXCampaign Yesterday opened STO Dec…
#SPXCampaign Yesterday opened STO Dec 4 $SPX 2030/2025 bull put spread @ .35. Earlier today STO 2105/2110 bear call spread @ .30 to complete IC.
IRA SPX STO Dec 4 2020/2015 bull put spread @ .30
PCLN 11 Hour trade STO Dec 4 1305/1310 bear call spread @ .50
KOLD reloaded STO Jan 15 114 put @ 3.40. thanks vxxkelly for the wake up.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Dec 4th 2035/2105 put spread for 1.45. This was sold as a condor on Monday for 2.60. Calls will expire tomorrow. Decided to close early to take about 40% of profit and not have the concern from further downside, especially with jobs number tomorrow that could have any effect. I will have plenty to roll if we keep going down.
SPX Dec 31st puts
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Dec 31st 1915/1890 put spreads for 1.25.
This is the second put spread for the week.
If weakness continues some rolling will have to happen.
$VIX levels to watch are 18.34 and 19.20. These are the next two signal levels for a downside warning.
#SPXCampaign STO Dec 19 1980/1975…
#SPXCampaign
STO Dec 19 1980/1975 BuPS @ 0.40
SPX roll
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Dec 24th 1990/1965 put spreads for 2.00. This is a roll from stopped spreads on 11/6. Does not cost much in margin since I already have extra call spreads on this expiry from an earlier roll.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Dec 17th 1890/1865 put spreads for .20. Sold as a roll on Nov 13th for 2.00.
SPX put spread
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Dec 31st 1960/1935 put spreads for 1.30, with SPX at 2101. This is my first put spread of the week, having missed a fill on Monday’s weakness. Action looks bullish; I believe we will grind sideways to higher into year end. I doubt we’ll get a strong push higher, but I have kept all call spreads above 2130 to be safe.
All cylinders
Well, I did sell a same-week condor yesterday, but missed a fill on a Dec 31st put spread… thought I’d get a chance this morning, but no beans… Indices off and running… sell some call spreads if you need them!
Short options, Margin, and retirement accounts
I got this question over the weekend:
Question:
What type of account are you trading in when you short naked? Regular margin/Portfolio margin account? Trying to find out what the more experienced folks setup when the run the types of strategies you use and not get killed on the tax side, but have all the strategies open to me unlike an IRA style acct.
Answer:
I use two different account types. My main account is an LLC account with portfolio margin… it is set up as a business partnership with family members. There are no restrictions on the types of trades. I also trade with 401K accounts… these are retirement accounts sponsored by the LLC for the members of the LLC (who are technically employees). Each member, including myself, rolled over portions of IRA accounts into these 401K’s. At Interactive Brokers, 401K accounts do not have restrictions against naked options. They are Reg-T accounts, so margin requirements for shorts are higher than portfolio margin. I typically sell naked options in my LLC account and stick to spreads in the 401K accounts (almost exclusively the #SPXcampaign, which is tailor made for retirement accounts).
For the short strategies such as #Earnings and #ContangoETFs, you will need to use spreads if you want to trade in an IRA. I usually don’t use spreads, but some other contributors on OptionsBistro do, such as @fuzzballl, who uses a mix of naked and spreads.
Let me know if I can help further!
SPX iron condor bonus/roll
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Dec 4th 2015/2035/2125/2145 iron condors for 2.60. Expiring this Friday. Slightly risky due to data coming out this week, but looking for consolidation phase to continue. Will try to be out of this before Friday’s payroll numbers.
SPX spread closed
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Dec 11th 2175/2200 call spreads for .10. Sold for 1.35 on Oct 23.
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX JAN4 16…
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX JAN4 16 (1/22/2016) 1875/1850 BuPS @1.45
SPX call spread
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Dec 31st 2175/2200 call spreads for 1.50.
Good morning…
Heavy week of data and reports, including nonfarm payroll on Friday. For #SPXcampaign this week I will be selling spreads in the Dec 31st expiration.
Expirations…
#OptionsExpiration
Expiring with max profit:
$SPX 1920/1895 put spreads
$SPX 1965/1940 put spreads
$VLO 65 & 66 puts
Assignment:
$NXPI 83 & 84 covered calls, stock called away
Have a great weekend everyone!
#SPXcampaign SPX NOV4 15 (Today)…
#SPXcampaign SPX NOV4 15 (Today) 2110/2130 BeCS expired worthless
#SPXcampaign SPX NOV4 15 (Today)…
#SPXcampaign SPX NOV4 15 (Today) 2020/2045 BuPS expired worthless
SPX spreads closing
#SPXcampaign – Not much movement in the index, but theta decay is moving nicely…
BTC $SPX Dec 11th 2165/2190 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.25 on Nov 10th.
BTC $SPX Dec 4th 1950/1925 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.25 on Nov 3rd.
SPX spread close
#SPXCampaign BTC $SPX Nov 30th 2145/2170 call spreads for .05. Closed for margin. Sold as part of an iron condor for 2.00 on Nov 9th.
SPX iron condor
#SPXcampaign Today I am looking to complete my full position for the Dec 24th expiry, which means I need a spread on each side. Starting with: STO $SPX Dec 24th 2165/2190 call spreads for 1.30.
Then, a few seconds later on a spike down: STO $SPX Dec 24th 1950/1925 put spreads for 1.40.
Done!
SPX call spread
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Dec 24th 2170/2195 call spreads for 1.25, with SPX at 2089. I now have sold one spread in puts and one in calls for the week… need one more of each.
Well, I was not going…
Well, I was not going to trade until after the Thanksgiving weekend, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity today. So,
STO Dec 24th SPX 2000/1985 BuPS at $2.20
SPX Dec 17th put spread
#SPXcampaign I only sold one put spread last week so this is the second half of my position for the Dec 17th expiry: STO $SPX Dec 17th 1945/1920 put spreads for 1.35. I got lucky on this one and was filled at the bottom of the day.
$SPX Campaign
BTC Nov 30th 1930/1940 BuPS @ 0.05 on GTC order. Out a bit early and takes the risk off for the remaining nickel.
SPX campaign spread
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Dec 24th 1935/1910 put spreads for 1.35. First spreads for this expiry… I am not waiting for a strong down move due to the short week that is likely to a quiet trickle up or sideways. Will look to sell call spread as well.
Good morning, 11/23/15
Probably a pretty quiet holiday week, which is great for theta decay and one and a half fewer days before weekly expiration this Friday, when markets close early after a full day off. I will be sell Dec 24th credit spreads in the #SPXcampaign. The $GME #Earnings trade looks to be in $2 worth of trouble to start the week… I’ve actually been here before with GME… it usually is a quick trade but one time I took the stock and waited a few weeks with covered calls before turning a good profit. It may take its time to recover but it always has. Have a great week, everyone!
SPX spread close
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Nov 30th 1940/1915 put spreads for .15. Sold as part of a 2.00 iron condor roll on Nov 9th.
SPX put spread
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Dec 17th 1925/1900 put spreads for 1.30. Thursday is a bit late to sell the first put spread, but that’s what you get with a rip-roaring bullish week.
SPX puts close
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Nov 20th 2010/1985 put spreads for .10. This was trading over 7.00 last Friday. Sold for 2.15 on Nov 9th.
Would normally allow these to expire, but with monthly expiration and Friday morning settlement, I won’t leave the risk out there.
SPX call spread
#SPXcampaign Selling another call spread as part of the rolls I need from last week’s stops. This is pretty far above all-time highs.
STO $SPX Dec 24th 2180/2205 call spreads for 1.30.
#SPXcampaign BTC SPX NOV4 15…
#SPXcampaign BTC SPX NOV4 15 1915/1890 PUT @.20
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX NOV5 15…
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX NOV5 15 1905/1880 BuPS @.20
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX DEC2 15…
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX DEC2 15 2145/2170 CALL @1.55 CBOE, thank you Mort, Robert and Paul
for letting me know the resistance levels
SPX closing spread at 80%
#SPXcampaign
BTC $SPX Nov 27th 1915/1890 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.25 on Oct 26th.
SPX put roll
#SPXcampaign #Rolling STO $SPX Nov 27th 1965/1940 put spreads for 1.30, as a partial roll of spreads stopped out last week.
SPX call spread #2
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Dec 17th 2165/2190 call spreads for 1.25. Second call spread for the week, 20 points higher than yesterday. I won’t worry about defending these unless we break through all-time high at 2134.
$SPX #spxcampaign STO Dec 19…
$SPX #spxcampaign
STO Dec 19 2150/2160 BeCS for 1.00
These are well past the highs and delta less than 0.1.
Got these earlier this morning, just now able to post. Could have waited and gotten a more, but this works.
SPX pre-market call spread
#SPXcampaign In pre-market (4:34am ET) STO $SPX Dec 4th 2130/2155 call spreads for 1.20. This is actually my second regular call spread for this expiry, given that I only sold half my normal amount a couple weeks ago. Staying at or above all-time highs, and above the most recent swing high.
$SPX call spread
#SPXCampaign Sold Dec 11 2140/2165 BeCS @ 1.20. Short strike has a delta of 07 and is outside 1 standard deviation (2135), and above the all-time high.
$SPX spread #spxcampaign STO Dec…
$SPX spread #spxcampaign
STO Dec 11 2130/2140 BeCS at 0.80.
My account not as large as some, so have to take these in smaller bites.
SPX call spread
#SPXcampaign STO Dec 17th $SPX 2145/2170 call spreads for 1.25
…and another SPX stop
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Nov 27th 1950/1925 put spreads for 2.75. Sold for 1.70 on Oct 23rd (part of a roll).
$SPX new call spread
#SPXcampaign Don’t normally sell call spreads on a day like this, but I still needed another for Dec 11th, and I’m still able to get one right at all-time highs. If next week is more down, it will be fine. If we rebound, the relief from put spreads will make up for any pain on this one. It is my only call spread below 2160.
Sold to open $SPX Dec 11th 2130/2155 call spreads for 1.25.
$SPX stopping Dec 11th spread
#SPXcampaign Bought to close Dec 11th 1920/1895 put spreads for 3.20. Sold for 1.25 on Wednesday.
With warning signal in effect and continuing downside, I am closing non-SPX positions as well, to keep margin clear for a possible Monday crash. I don’t really expect it, but the end of this week is looking like a minor version of August 20-24.
SPX Stop-out
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Dec 4th 1940/1915 put spreads for 2.90. Sold for 1.25 on Nov 5th. Closing down a few put spreads today to avoid weekend risk after $VIX Warning has fired.
Danger Zone colors…
I’ve changed the background color and included the note in the header… “VIX danger zone entered 11/13.” Since #SPXcampaign is a key strategy followed by multiple members, I’ll alter the site appearance based on different conditions to be aware of.
Second $VIX signal hit – DANGER ZONE
#SPXcampaign…. well, that sounds dramatic. But we hit 20.06, which is 25% above Wednesday’s close of 16.05. That’s the second signal which means we have entered a Danger Zone. Increasing volatility into a Friday is scary, as Monday could be a follow through. Friday the 13th, no less.
Even though we have been ticking up since the lows (and the $RUT is moving up strongly), we should be cautious for more possible downside. This could be a false warning, but those are rare in the backtesting I have done. I recommend you close put spreads if they are anywhere near your stops. If placing any new put spreads today, please make sure they are as far OTM as possible. We are now on warning until $VIX falls back below Wednesday’s close of 16.05.
$VIX warnings for Monday are 25.60 (100% from 10/28 low) and 22.96 (25% up from Thursday’s close).
SPX spread rolled
#SPXcampaign Rolling the Dec 11th spread I STOPPED out last night:
Sold to Open $SPX Dec 17th 1890/1865 put spreads for 2.00, 1.5x position size.
SPX call spread, UVXY call closings
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Dec 4th 2170/2195 call spreads for .20. Sold Nov 2nd for 1.25.
#VXXGame BTC $UVXY Dec 18th 80 call for 1.25. Sold for 9.20 avg price in August. Not worth risk when over 80% profit available.
SPX 1-day spread
#SPXcampaign Selling $SPX Nov 13th 2025/2000 put spreads. These expire tomorrow, assuming we won’t go too much lower, so risky… stop at 3.00. I have sold a couple for 1.10, looking for 1.20 for more.
Options Bistro 