What Did You Buy Today?

[Otter]

(04-17-2020, 12:11 PM)fenders53 Wrote:

(04-17-2020, 12:04 PM)Otter Wrote:

(04-17-2020, 11:36 AM)stockguru Wrote: I shorted the SPY but played it a different way and just bought SPDN today. This way I don't have to full with options and will play the bounce from $25 to $33

I like this one and wont get hot hard. At these levels I thought it was worth a shot.

I went with SQQQ today, which is a similar fund geared towards shorting the NASDAQ index. With the TTM P/E on the NASDAQ above where it was on 12/31/2019 heading into a bunch of tech earnings next week, seemed like the right add on the speculative gambling side of the portfolio.

Otter, when you get bored I think we need to launch a "shorting" thread.  On at least one occasion our conversations have caused others to jump in short the market and then get scared and bail literally a day or so later.  That's not how effective hedging is supposed to work.  That's certainly not my goal if I contributed to it.  I think it would be a service to our friends to discuss the many ways to short, and explain the pros and cons.  As you know it can be very simple or extremely complicated.  I'm no pro but I know what I am getting into when I launch a position.

Could do, and we could have plenty of discussion about roll yield (contango, backwardation), and how put option premiums respond to VIX, all the greek letters, etc., but it would all boil down to a single rule:

1. This is gambling. Only risk what you are willing to lose. The majority of options contracts expire worthless.