??? Their flagship newsletter's (Stock Advisor) average pick is up 113.37% while equally investing the same amount in the s&p 500 would have returned only 21% since the inception of the newsletter in 2003. I've made hundreds of thousands of dollars following their advice starting in 05. I believe they have made me go from being a F investor to a B through education alone. I'm not sure what you are basing your opinion on but I am very thankful for them.
Marketing is terrible. Hate all those emails, so god damn insulting to my intelligence.
However, I've gotten a few free 30 day trials before to Income Investor and to Global Gains and I liked both. Message board setup is terrible on the newsletters, don't you agree Hitman?
More power to you to pay the $200 a year and leverage it into several hundred K. I think if I ever buy 1 of their services it'll probably be income investor, but then maybe take the dividends and put it into something more fun like global gains. Do you know why hidden gems does so terrible? Seems to be getting crushed by the market. It is funny how Motley Fool doesnt even make mention of it. Their marketing is definitely VERY annoying.
However, I've gotten a few free 30 day trials before to Income Investor and to Global Gains and I liked both. Message board setup is terrible on the newsletters, don't you agree Hitman?
More power to you to pay the $200 a year and leverage it into several hundred K. I think if I ever buy 1 of their services it'll probably be income investor, but then maybe take the dividends and put it into something more fun like global gains. Do you know why hidden gems does so terrible? Seems to be getting crushed by the market. It is funny how Motley Fool doesnt even make mention of it. Their marketing is definitely VERY annoying.
Message boards are clunky. I like Rule Breakers and Stock Advisor because they pick the high beta names. I try to stick with David Garnder because he has a fantastic track record. Hidden gems seems to focus on beaten down, obscure names which work great when a company can reverse it's bad performance but those are few and far between. I haven't tried GG or II like you because I like the stocks that move and have liquid options listed.
It's crazy that had I been investing in 09,10, and this year like I did in 06 and 07 (crazy bullishness with extreme leverage) I would be up well over a million by pyramiding and using crazy margin. However 08 almost wiped me out and I had to change styles to a more conservative style so a bear market wouldn't make me tap out.
It's crazy that had I been investing in 09,10, and this year like I did in 06 and 07 (crazy bullishness with extreme leverage) I would be up well over a million by pyramiding and using crazy margin. However 08 almost wiped me out and I had to change styles to a more conservative style so a bear market wouldn't make me tap out.
u still hangin' onto sina hitman? remember you mentioning it recently.....and from my viewpoint the china tech bubble was just insanity....clueless when it would end but obviously was gonna end badly at some point....and its starting to look like it has finally burst.....they were tossing out so many IPOs the past several months.....the latest and greatest kneeslapper was RENN.....at 14 IPO price it was like 72x revenue.....24 high IPO day now 12.....non stop bloodletting since IPO day
CMG won't quit just yet...anyway sorry for getting off topic...i'll go back to my hole over in sell, sell, sell
CMG won't quit just yet...anyway sorry for getting off topic...i'll go back to my hole over in sell, sell, sell
I use Fool mostly for new ideas. David Gardner, Rick Munariz, Jeff Fischer and Tim Beyers are all outstanding stock pickers with fantastic track records. I also use Navellier's stock screener and S&P's research reports. I watch Fast Money, Mad Money, and Options Action. Since 08 I try to read at least one investment book every 2 months. It's been easy the last 2 years because of the market being in bull mode and even a turkey can fly during a hurricane. I won't consider myself tested until a new bear market rolls around and I survive it. The one in 08 almost broke me and if I hadn't been margin called out of most of my holdings I would have had incredible debt that I couldn't have paid back.
Hitman.
Can you list some of the books you have read that has helped you the most.
Im on like my 4th book in a month on Options right now.
Just opened my paper trading account at TOS.
Im going to paper trade at least 6 months before buying any call or put options.
But I think I may be selling some covered calls of stock I already own.
What is your strategy for covered calls.
Do you ever buy the contract that you sell back at a premium if its getting close to the money?
Or do you only sell CC on stocks that you own that you are willing to part with?
I have some stocks that I have had for years. I have seen the chart patterns for years.
I feel like I would be very successful selling covered calls that expire worthless on these stocks.
Just throwing some thoughts out there
Can you list some of the books you have read that has helped you the most.
Im on like my 4th book in a month on Options right now.
Just opened my paper trading account at TOS.
Im going to paper trade at least 6 months before buying any call or put options.
But I think I may be selling some covered calls of stock I already own.
What is your strategy for covered calls.
Do you ever buy the contract that you sell back at a premium if its getting close to the money?
Or do you only sell CC on stocks that you own that you are willing to part with?
I have some stocks that I have had for years. I have seen the chart patterns for years.
I feel like I would be very successful selling covered calls that expire worthless on these stocks.
Just throwing some thoughts out there
If you are going to play options you must have McMillians Options as a Strategic Investment. I've had that book for around 10 years and I'm constantly referencing it. I've never really read it from front to back, but use it more as a tool when I have a question. Some of the pages have come unglued from the spine I've used it so much. I'm not really sure about your investing level or style but I will list a few books that I think any investor should gain something from. Go check out the reviews on amazon to see if it will peak your curiosity.
Bogle's The little book of Common Sense Investion (Great easy fast read but really basic ideas)
Graham's The Intelligent Investor revised with commentary by Jason Zweig (About finding value stocks... Buffett calls it the greatest book ever written on investing)
Zweig's Your Money and Your Brain (Probably my favorite because I'm such an extreme risk taker and really helped me tone it down... At the very least it will help you with sports gambling if it does nothing else for you)
I've done hundreds of trades involving covered calls. I've also done hundreds writing naked puts (same strategy as covered calls). When I write covered calls I never buy them back until expiration paying for no time value. That takes all of the guess work out of it for me and I've seen many 3rd Friday's when I've had stocks magically pin to a strike to help me out. I think it's the market makers squeezing premium buyers by manipulating the stock. I've just seen it too many times to be convinced otherwise. I will only buy back calls early if an ex dividend date is coming, the call is in the money, and I don't want to be called away for tax purposes. I've made lots of money by selling cc but it's also cost me lots because of capping my gains. I bought Chipotle in the summer of 09 at 75 after a huge runup to 165 within a year I sold the March 11 195 calls thinking it had run out of gas. Well Chipotle is now at 280 and I was forced to sell at 195 earlier this year. That is a tough nut for me to swallow because I've been so bullish on Chipotle for over 5 years and I was trying to be cute by adding income to my long. I've had that happen on a few others but not like that. I'm getting away from selling cc's because I would rather hit a few grand slams than a bunch of singles. Plus there are many tax advantages to buying and holding rather than trading. Covered calls remind me of betting huge moneyline favorites.
Bogle's The little book of Common Sense Investion (Great easy fast read but really basic ideas)
Graham's The Intelligent Investor revised with commentary by Jason Zweig (About finding value stocks... Buffett calls it the greatest book ever written on investing)
Zweig's Your Money and Your Brain (Probably my favorite because I'm such an extreme risk taker and really helped me tone it down... At the very least it will help you with sports gambling if it does nothing else for you)
I've done hundreds of trades involving covered calls. I've also done hundreds writing naked puts (same strategy as covered calls). When I write covered calls I never buy them back until expiration paying for no time value. That takes all of the guess work out of it for me and I've seen many 3rd Friday's when I've had stocks magically pin to a strike to help me out. I think it's the market makers squeezing premium buyers by manipulating the stock. I've just seen it too many times to be convinced otherwise. I will only buy back calls early if an ex dividend date is coming, the call is in the money, and I don't want to be called away for tax purposes. I've made lots of money by selling cc but it's also cost me lots because of capping my gains. I bought Chipotle in the summer of 09 at 75 after a huge runup to 165 within a year I sold the March 11 195 calls thinking it had run out of gas. Well Chipotle is now at 280 and I was forced to sell at 195 earlier this year. That is a tough nut for me to swallow because I've been so bullish on Chipotle for over 5 years and I was trying to be cute by adding income to my long. I've had that happen on a few others but not like that. I'm getting away from selling cc's because I would rather hit a few grand slams than a bunch of singles. Plus there are many tax advantages to buying and holding rather than trading. Covered calls remind me of betting huge moneyline favorites.
Hitman, you got any recommendations for online brokers (goes for anyone really)? I'm not sure if I wanna go with E-trade, Scottrade or whatever. I know someone who makes a lot of mean reversion trades trying to grind 1-2% profits when the market gaps up. I am probably going to give it a try in a month or two.
Don't really have any interest in options yet.
I've never heard of thinkorswim, what is the upside to that over something like scottrade? What I am mainly going to be doing is buying stocks at the open of the market and holding them for between 2-10 days hoping for a mean reversion (its someone I knows system, I really don't have a strong understanding of how it works but want to try it)
I've never heard of thinkorswim, what is the upside to that over something like scottrade? What I am mainly going to be doing is buying stocks at the open of the market and holding them for between 2-10 days hoping for a mean reversion (its someone I knows system, I really don't have a strong understanding of how it works but want to try it)
I have an account at Ameritrade and one at InterActive Brokers. I love both for different reasons. IAB has the lowest commissions but you have to pay at least 10 bucks a month in commissions or you will be docked 10 bucks a month minus whatever you paid that month in commissions. IAB also has a reputation for lousy customer service. IAB really wants active customers and that just might suit you. I think 10k minimum to open for IAB. The commissions are .005 per 100 shares, 1 dollar minimum. They also have a lot of hidden fees like charging you for real time quotes (I just use my Ameritrade account to get that info), real time news, moving money around, canceling orders, writing checks, shorting stocks daily interest and many others. If you are active though it's going to be your lowest cost option unless you are buying boatloads of penny stocks or low dollar plays. I've been with TD for over 10 years and have been happy overall but had I known about IAB I would have just started there. You may want to check out Trade Station, I've never tried but heard great things about their platform. I think they let you trade for 6 months free but after that I'm not sure what the fees are. Share Builder is supposed to be another good low commission house but they don't really appeal to the trader and more the long term investor. I had an account at Etrade about 10 years ago and hated it compared to TD.
That's about all I know
That's about all I know
