Conservative option strategies, what did you buy or sell today?

[fenders53]

Agree. Gold is directionless now. I wouldn't chase. Directionless pays some too with the decent premiums.

[fenders53]

GOLD just announced the "special dividend". Three tranche return of capital totalling $750 this year. Perhaps that has tax advantage for some rather than selling shares but it mostly sounds like the same trick CEFs do to inflate their dividend.

[ChadR]

Sold a call option on T today in my wife's ROTH account. 30.50 for 5/28/21. Not a great premium, but if it gets called, not too worried about it. Got busy and forgot to also do this in my ROTH account too.

[fenders53]

(05-21-2021, 03:14 PM)ChadR Wrote: Sold a call option on T today in my wife's ROTH account.  30.50 for 5/28/21.  Not a great premium, but if it gets called, not too worried about it.  Got busy and forgot to also do this in my ROTH account too.

It's tough to get a good premium on T unless the market is really volatile.  It's also the reason why it's easy to avoid get exercised 85% of the time.  It adds up at the end of the year if you get a few boring stocks in the rotation.  I get a new favorite every six months or so but the trick can work for a long time in the same stock.  HRL has been easy money for a long time as it moves just enough over the course of a few months to keep both put and call sells working around a long position.  

On the down side I have been losing about 100 shares a week of this or that on a covered call exercise.  Sometimes I don't care, sometimes I'm kicking myself.  Can't defend them all.  It also tempers my losses during a rough down week and I don't have the energy to figure out if it's good or bad overall.  It would be inconclusive analysis anyway as it's all about general market direction over the course of a few months.

[crimsonghost747]

Ohh I almost forgot this thread existed!
Honestly it's been quiet on the option front for me, I'm locked in a few longer term trades so I have all the cash I feel like having in the options game.
Currently holding some U puts for August.
And some PLTR puts for August and December. (or was it january. Far away anyway)

BABA put / covered call would be interesting but quite frankly I simply don't feel like playing with another $20k on top of everything else I have at this time.

[fenders53]

I need to close a bunch of positions soon. Just about everything is going my way lately. Nowhere to put the cash but oh well, that's a poor excuse to be greedy.

[crimsonghost747]

This thread has been quiet.

I currently have: (all short positions)
BABA $210 puts expiring this Friday
U $100 puts expiring August
PLTR $20 puts expiring in January

I have to say that I honestly have a bit too much money in options at the moment. I don't have much experience playing with these longer term ones so it's a bit difficult waiting all this time for them to expire before starting new positions.

[vbin]

I have puts on dash, adpt, bfly, arkk, blnk, dkng, Penn, rblx

[fenders53]

I usually have 15 puts sales open at any given time for years now. 25-40 a month. I stopped sharing here because I figured I was putting everyone to sleep. It's the core part of my income strategy for sure. I like dividends but they are 1/3rd of my income most months. Sometimes less on a good options month. Up or sideways markets cause that. If the market every dips for real I'll be sucked into positions and dividends will be important again. I have been selling short duration puts. Sometimes a month but usually less. It's very rare when I go out past 45 days lately.

[crimsonghost747]

Barrick Gold seems to be at a good level here.
I have no idea if this has a fancy name or anything.
But I bought some shares, sold some calls against those shares, and also sold some puts.

[fenders53]

(06-21-2021, 10:34 AM)crimsonghost747 Wrote: Barrick Gold seems to be at a good level here.
I have no idea if this has a fancy name or anything.
But I bought some shares, sold some calls against those shares, and also sold some puts.

Barrick and Newmont are the leading miners and they mine industrial metals as well.  I watched some paper profit evaporate last week but I got in much lower, and actually missed half the gold rally.  I don't view them as a get rich idea, but they are supposedly profitable down to gold $1000 and the dividend is safe not much higher than that.  They have deleveraged which is smart.  I am good with owning them as a hedge if they stay flat, and option income has been very easy if you don't chase them too early when they swing up or down.  Gold is very manipulated and I don't even bother trying to figure out where it might swing over the course of a few weeks.

[crimsonghost747]

I've been messing around with GOLD quite a bit here.
I think it's in a decent place under $22.

Also, my first ever bull put spread.
BABA 205/200 (september)