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March 2020 Updates!

Going over this months updates

What's New From March?

Trading Like Crazy

The shutdowns, layoffs, and other disruptions caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus have done some major damage to the stock market. This month we saw
hit a high in the 80s – which is among the highest, if not the highest, levels we've ever seen. Needless to say, it was a very busy month of trading in an effort to defend positions and minimize losses. It's been a challenging experience and my portfolio has definitely taken some tough blows. Towards the end of the month,
did settle down a bit to around the 50s level. That contraction was helpful to recoup around 20% of my losses, but I've still got a long way to go to get back to even.
As ugly as it's been, I feel lucky to not feel lost in all this chaos. It's been nice to have actions I can take to mitigate losses and defend my portfolio as the market plummets. I think it's also comforting to have a path back to profitability without needing the market to make a full recovery. I'm not sure how long this pandemic is going to last, and I definitely can't predict the long term effects it might have on the markets. In fact, this exact type of scenario is one of the major reasons I decided to learn how to trade options. They offer the opportunity to make money regardless of which way the market moves over the long term. For now, the most challenging part is dealing with the incredibly large price swings, and implied volatility explosions we've been having. The
an
that's had an
of less than 1% over the past several years, has been moving as much as 10% or more in a single day – and not just to the downside.
My plan moving forward is to continue doing the best I can to
maintain manageable levels of directional risk, and keep my
levels up in order to capitalize on any
This experience has been tough but enlightening. I feel prepared to handle just about any market after having traded through this unbelievable move. It's not real pretty right now but if you'd like to check out my trades and read my thought process during this fiasco, head on over to the Trade Journal and enjoy! I've taken the opportunity to experiment with different defensive tactics and management techniques. I've learned a lot about what works and what doesn't. I'll continue to record my thoughts and trades so that we might all benefit from the experience.

New Article!

Despite this busy month of trading, I managed to find time to write up a new article - Short Strangles. In this article, I break down the risk profile of a short strangle, one of the most powerful option strategies and a personal favorite. I won't sugar coat it – it's a bit of a heavy article... but there's a ton of good information in there. It's primarily about setup and functionality.

Vote For Me!

On a side note, if you have a moment, please vote for my entry in Tastytrade's Learning Man contest – I'd be super grateful! The winner gets a trip to Chicago for their "Geeks on Parade" event. I made this cool TASTY AF hat and a Tom Sosnoff $100-bill Learning Man 2020 t-shirt. Honestly, with all this virus stuff, I don't know if the event will still be possible but it's worth a shot anyways. I think the voting ends April 6th and the winner announced April 7th. Just click the image to go to the voting screen :)

Follow Me on Twitter @foodfortheta

For anyone that's new, be sure to keep up with my latest updates by following me on twitter! Especially now that the market is busy, it's given me a lot to tweet about. New followers are more than welcome so please don't be shy! You can also find a lot of my posts under the hashtag #DIYInvestor.

Trade Small, Stay Healthy!

I'm not sure how long this market chaos will continue, but the surest way to protect yourself from disaster is to keep your risks small.
and low-priced
are a couple ways that might help to contain your maximum risk exposure. It's also perfectly acceptable to sit and wait until things settle down before jumping into the market – patience is absolutely a strategy. Lastly, be safe out there. Hope you all are able to keep healthy and navigate through this crazy time in our lives. I'm thankfully not sick but I've been working from home and keeping my distance.
Until next time,
~ De'Shan

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