Happy weekend!
September and August were really great months for options, thanks to the short bout of volatility at the beginning of August.
To many people, selling options in volatile conditions sounds counter-intuitive - and it was to me too. But after a while you learn that as an option seller, volatility is your friend.
To put in perspective how helpful volatility is when it comes to selling options, for the first 6 months of the year, this portfolio brought in $3,053 in realized profits.
In Q3, that number is $3,052.
The first 6 months of the year were really slow going. If you were subscribed to this newsletter at the time, it felt like I was saying “volatility is too low, it's time to be patient” just about every week.
It finally came, and the trick is knowing when to be more aggressive with deploying capital, and when to hold back.
For the update this week:
$1,373 profit across 7 trades in September
$1,373 profit in September
Just like last month, “only” 4 new trades were placed in September, but all 4 trades that were put on in September were closed for a profit.
You can click on the individual links of each position to find out more about the trade (apologies that I don't have all the trades individually updated in September, there were just too many to post!).
New trades in September:
Bonus trade - SMH - $160 profit
Bonus trade - SBUX - still open
Older trades:
With September done, here's the running total of realized profits since the course's inception:
Year One (Sep 2022 - Aug 2023) - $3,422
Year Two (Sep 2023 - Aug 2024) - $6,292
Sep 2024 - $1,373
This brings the total for the last 25 months to a realized profit of $11,087 or a running monthly average of $443.
If you're familiar with options and want to follow along the trade updates, you can sign up for my Bread Crumb subscription which is priced at $49/month.
i.e. on average, each month you would pay $49 and make $443, or 9x the subscription fee.
Every trade I share is from my real portfolio, which means if the trade isn't making money, I'm not making money either.
Do note none of these are recommendations - I'm just sharing trade updates within my own portfolio which may or may not be right for you.
Closing words & useful links
I was actually surprised when I checked the VIX after the close on Friday and saw that it's hovering just over 20. The overall market certainly does not feel that way!
Lots of companies are yet to report their earnings in October. If the VIX stays elevated and the market doesn't like what companies have to say, it could be a very interesting month ahead.
Have a good weekend!
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This article is for educational purposes only. This is my own portfolio which is being managed according to my goals and risk tolerance. Your situation is likely different and you should do your own due diligence before investing in stocks or options.