I know I'm technically supposed to by strategy type, but I stuck with almost all this year because of their versatility and simplicity. They are high in carry reliable rates, they have straightforward and versatile defensive tactics, low dependency, moderate capital requirements, and low commission costs. While I fell a bit flat mixing up the strategy, I still diversified by way of sector, duration, product, price, IV, and delta. That's what's nice about options – they offer multiple levels of diversification simply by their nature.
FXI: Chinese Equities
My best performing underlying this year was FXI, the Chinese equity ETF. With all this trade-war nonsense, FXI's volatility stayed relatively high and made it an excellent trading vehicle. Nearly 40% of my profits came from selling FXI strangles. Unfortunately, as volatility dwindled, so too did attractive opportunity in this product. I ultimately had to step back because the payout became too small to warrant the potential risks towards the end of the year.
EWZ: Brazilian Equities
Brazil was my second best performing underlying this year. I had to play defense every now and then but in the end it worked out well. For most of the year premium in this underlying was excellent, and EWZ's price level is perfect for my size of account. Unfortunately around the fourth quarter this product's IV dried up with the rest of the market and became too slow to trade. It was fun while it lasted! Next, let's take a look at some of my not-so-fun trades...