Selling puts is a strategy that can generate an annualized yield in the neighborhood of 30 percent to 50 percent. When executed properly, this strategy can be highly profitable and carry very low risk. That is especially true in the kind of market we have today, where fear is high and option prices are elevated.
This is a great way to buy stocks at a discount. Let's say you would love to buy IBM at $81 a share, but it's selling at $89 a share. In this case, you could sell the $81 put option. If the price falls below $81 before the option expiration date, you get your shares at the price you like. If the price stays above $81, you keep the premium and you can repeat the process.
You can also sell puts with the goal of generating income. In this case, you'd want the puts to expire worthless so you can capture the option premium. To accomplish this goal, you sell puts that are "out of the money" on stocks you believe to have very little downside risk... and which you would be willing to purchase at a much lower price.
Here is an example...
Let's assume that stock XYZ is selling for $13. We'll also assume the stock has already fallen by a significant amount (not too hard to find in today's market) and you believe the rock bottom liquidation value of the company is $8.
With the stock trading at $13, the July $10 put option is well out of the money and selling for $1.50. You decide to sell those puts. When the trade closes, $150 will automatically show up in your account for every put contract you sold.
The only way you could lose money on this trade is if XYZ trades below $8.50 ($10 minus $1.50) on or before the option expiration date in July. That would be a 35 percent drop from the depressed level the stock is trading at when you sell the puts.
And in the unlikely event that you are obligated to purchase those shares below $8.50, you should still come out okay. After all, the liquidation value of the company is $8 a share, which makes the downside risk very small.
This strategy should be employed on stocks where you believe the downside risk is minimal. And you should only employ it on stocks that you would be glad to own at a price below where you sell the put.
You should also have a reasonable understanding of the true valuation of the company. For this reason, I would exclude most financial and insurance companies, as few people (including insiders) have any idea how much these companies are worth or what is on the books.
By selling put options, you could buy super-high-quality stocks as much as 50 percent cheaper than today's historically low prices. Plus, you'll get cold, hard cash deposited in your account instantly... adding to your annual income!
Larry Potter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkJCsIMAiNY
www.ATicketToWealth.com
Showing posts with label little ticket to wealth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label little ticket to wealth. Show all posts
Friday, May 1, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Make Margin Trends Your Friends
By Andrew M. Gordon
When investigating companies to invest in, I look at several margins - gross, operating, pre-tax, and net profit margin. But I focus on operating margin. Operating margin is the difference between how much you make and how much you spend to operate the business. If the "making" is at least 15 percent higher than the "spending," I'm interested.
But there's something else I need to know...
Was the operating margin lower or higher last year? And the year before? And the year before that? I like to see margins on an upward trend. It could mean several things, like...
Strong and/or rising pricing power
A shortage of products (Think Harley-Davidson, which deliberately makes fewer bikes than they could sell.)
Technological leadership
A transition from lower-end to higher-end products
Rising productivity
The ability to effectively manage costs
It takes more homework to figure out what is driving higher margins, but all of the above possibilities are good. So with an operating margin on an upward trend, even without doing the homework, you already know the company is running its business from a position of strength.
Profit margins go to the core of what makes a business successful. If you want a reality check, consider retailers.
Many retailers sold more product than ever during the 2008 holiday season. But because they had to slash prices to get customers to buy, their margins were squeezed to the max. So while sales were up, profits were down. That's what happens when margins go in the wrong direction.
If you want to do the research yourself, the numbers are provided online by Reuters Finance. Just look up a specific company and click on "Ratios."
[Ed. Note: This June, investment expert Andrew Gordon is just one of 9 investment experts who will show you exactly how you can make a fortune in today's market. Find out how to get their top recommendations for making 2009 the best year ever for your portfolio right here.]
Larry Potter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkJCsIMAiNY
www.ATicketToWealth.com
When investigating companies to invest in, I look at several margins - gross, operating, pre-tax, and net profit margin. But I focus on operating margin. Operating margin is the difference between how much you make and how much you spend to operate the business. If the "making" is at least 15 percent higher than the "spending," I'm interested.
But there's something else I need to know...
Was the operating margin lower or higher last year? And the year before? And the year before that? I like to see margins on an upward trend. It could mean several things, like...
Strong and/or rising pricing power
A shortage of products (Think Harley-Davidson, which deliberately makes fewer bikes than they could sell.)
Technological leadership
A transition from lower-end to higher-end products
Rising productivity
The ability to effectively manage costs
It takes more homework to figure out what is driving higher margins, but all of the above possibilities are good. So with an operating margin on an upward trend, even without doing the homework, you already know the company is running its business from a position of strength.
Profit margins go to the core of what makes a business successful. If you want a reality check, consider retailers.
Many retailers sold more product than ever during the 2008 holiday season. But because they had to slash prices to get customers to buy, their margins were squeezed to the max. So while sales were up, profits were down. That's what happens when margins go in the wrong direction.
If you want to do the research yourself, the numbers are provided online by Reuters Finance. Just look up a specific company and click on "Ratios."
[Ed. Note: This June, investment expert Andrew Gordon is just one of 9 investment experts who will show you exactly how you can make a fortune in today's market. Find out how to get their top recommendations for making 2009 the best year ever for your portfolio right here.]
Larry Potter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkJCsIMAiNY
www.ATicketToWealth.com
Saturday, April 18, 2009
People who are Happy for No Reason surround themselves with support.
We catch the emotions of those around us just like we catch their colds. It's called emotional contagion. So it's important to make wise choices about the company you keep. Establish appropriate boundaries with emotional bullies and "happiness vampires" who suck the life out of you.
Develop your happiness "dream team" - a mastermind or support group you meet with regularly to keep you steadily on the happiness path."Happily ever after" isn't just for fairy tales or the lucky few. Imagine experiencing inner peace and well-being as the backdrop for everything else in your life.
When you're Happy for No Reason, it's not that your life always looks perfect - it's that however it looks, you're still happy! [Ed. Note: Marci Shimoff is the author of the New York Times bestseller Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out, a revolutionary approach to experiencing deep and lasting happiness. As the woman's face of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and a featured teacher in The Secret, Marci is an authority on success, happiness, and the law of attraction.
To order Happy for No Reason, newly released in paperback, and receive free bonus gifts, go to www.happyfornoreason.com/home.asp. One of the best ways to feel happy is to enjoy the work you do. What better way to create enjoyment in your work than to start your own business, based on something you love to do? Get all the details for getting a moneymaking Internet business up and running right here]
Larry Potter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkJCsIMAiNY
www.ATicketToWealth.com
Develop your happiness "dream team" - a mastermind or support group you meet with regularly to keep you steadily on the happiness path."Happily ever after" isn't just for fairy tales or the lucky few. Imagine experiencing inner peace and well-being as the backdrop for everything else in your life.
When you're Happy for No Reason, it's not that your life always looks perfect - it's that however it looks, you're still happy! [Ed. Note: Marci Shimoff is the author of the New York Times bestseller Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out, a revolutionary approach to experiencing deep and lasting happiness. As the woman's face of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and a featured teacher in The Secret, Marci is an authority on success, happiness, and the law of attraction.
To order Happy for No Reason, newly released in paperback, and receive free bonus gifts, go to www.happyfornoreason.com/home.asp. One of the best ways to feel happy is to enjoy the work you do. What better way to create enjoyment in your work than to start your own business, based on something you love to do? Get all the details for getting a moneymaking Internet business up and running right here]
Larry Potter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkJCsIMAiNY
www.ATicketToWealth.com
Monday, March 30, 2009
Mining Sector Doesn't Need Banks
In the magical world of FinanceLand, it seems evil Dr. Doom has landed on the capital (Stall Street), and with a zap from his freezing ray-gun, has permeated the landscape with a thick layer of frost.
The effect: Traditional sources of financing – indeed, virtually every type of credit – have been placed in an Ice Age-like deep freeze. Facing a major crisis of confidence, banks underwent a 180-degree turn: Whereas they were previously almost force-feeding us loans, banks are now terrified to even include them on their menus.
Larry Potter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObVVfulxlBk
www.ATicketToWealth.com
The effect: Traditional sources of financing – indeed, virtually every type of credit – have been placed in an Ice Age-like deep freeze. Facing a major crisis of confidence, banks underwent a 180-degree turn: Whereas they were previously almost force-feeding us loans, banks are now terrified to even include them on their menus.
Larry Potter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObVVfulxlBk
www.ATicketToWealth.com
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Dollar Could Be...
...Ready to Move Higher Again ...
Two pieces of recent economic data have me expecting more of the same risk-averse capital to be driving the U.S. dollar back higher soon:
Japan's exports plunged nearly 50 percent in February — an obvious sign global demand has come to a screeching halt. Tack on the slowdown in exports for the U.S., China, and Germany and you've painted a real ugly picture for the export side of the global economy.
U.S. fourth-quarter GDP sunk by 6.3 percent. This was more than had been expected. Perhaps it's a lagging indicator. But such a dramatic slowdown bodes ill for any bounce-back strength out of the U.S. consumer.
Larry Potter
www.ATicketToWealth.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObVVfulxlBk
Two pieces of recent economic data have me expecting more of the same risk-averse capital to be driving the U.S. dollar back higher soon:
Japan's exports plunged nearly 50 percent in February — an obvious sign global demand has come to a screeching halt. Tack on the slowdown in exports for the U.S., China, and Germany and you've painted a real ugly picture for the export side of the global economy.
U.S. fourth-quarter GDP sunk by 6.3 percent. This was more than had been expected. Perhaps it's a lagging indicator. But such a dramatic slowdown bodes ill for any bounce-back strength out of the U.S. consumer.
Larry Potter
www.ATicketToWealth.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObVVfulxlBk
Monday, March 23, 2009
An astronomical sum is still not enough!
Why not? Because of a series of very powerful reasons:
First, most of the money is being poured into a virtually bottomless pit. Even while Uncle Sam spends or lends hundreds of billions, the wealth destruction taking place at the household level in America is occurring in the trillions — $12.9 trillion vaporized in real estate, stocks, and other assets since the onset of the crisis, according to the Fed's latest Flow of Funds.
Second, most of the money from the government is still a promise, and even much of the disbursed funds have yet to reach their destination. Meanwhile, all of the wealth lost has already hit home — literally, in the household.
Third, the government has been, and is, greatly underestimating the magnitude of this debt crisis. Specifically,
The FDIC's "Problem List" of troubled banks includes only 252 institutions with assets of $159 billion. However, based on our analysis, a total of 1,568 banks and thrifts are at risk of failure with assets of $2.32 trillion due to weak capital, asset quality, earnings, and other factors. (The details are in Part I of our white paper, and the institutions are named in Appendix A.)
When Treasury officials first planned to provide TARP funds to Citigroup, they assumed it was among the strong institutions and that the funds would go primarily toward stabilizing the markets or the economy. But even before the check could be cut, they learned that the money would have to be for a very different purpose: an emergency injection of capital to prevent Citigroup's collapse. Based on our analysis, however, Citigroup is not alone. We could witness a similar outcome for JPMorgan Chase and other major banks. (See Part II of our white paper.)
AIG is big. But it, too, is not alone. Yes, in a February 26 memorandum, AIG made the case that its $2 trillion in credit default swaps (CDS) would have been the big event that could have caused a global collapse. And indeed, its counterparties alone have $36 trillion in assets. But AIG's CDS portfolio is just one of many: Citibank's portfolio has $2.9 trillion, almost a trillion more than AIG's at its peak. JPMorgan Chase has $9.2 trillion, or almost five times more than AIG. And globally, the Bank of International Settlements reports a total of $57.3 trillion in credit default swaps, more than 28 times larger than AIG's CDS portfolio.
Clearly, the money available to the U.S. government is too small for a crisis of these dimensions.
Larry Potter
www.ATicketToWealth.com
First, most of the money is being poured into a virtually bottomless pit. Even while Uncle Sam spends or lends hundreds of billions, the wealth destruction taking place at the household level in America is occurring in the trillions — $12.9 trillion vaporized in real estate, stocks, and other assets since the onset of the crisis, according to the Fed's latest Flow of Funds.
Second, most of the money from the government is still a promise, and even much of the disbursed funds have yet to reach their destination. Meanwhile, all of the wealth lost has already hit home — literally, in the household.
Third, the government has been, and is, greatly underestimating the magnitude of this debt crisis. Specifically,
The FDIC's "Problem List" of troubled banks includes only 252 institutions with assets of $159 billion. However, based on our analysis, a total of 1,568 banks and thrifts are at risk of failure with assets of $2.32 trillion due to weak capital, asset quality, earnings, and other factors. (The details are in Part I of our white paper, and the institutions are named in Appendix A.)
When Treasury officials first planned to provide TARP funds to Citigroup, they assumed it was among the strong institutions and that the funds would go primarily toward stabilizing the markets or the economy. But even before the check could be cut, they learned that the money would have to be for a very different purpose: an emergency injection of capital to prevent Citigroup's collapse. Based on our analysis, however, Citigroup is not alone. We could witness a similar outcome for JPMorgan Chase and other major banks. (See Part II of our white paper.)
AIG is big. But it, too, is not alone. Yes, in a February 26 memorandum, AIG made the case that its $2 trillion in credit default swaps (CDS) would have been the big event that could have caused a global collapse. And indeed, its counterparties alone have $36 trillion in assets. But AIG's CDS portfolio is just one of many: Citibank's portfolio has $2.9 trillion, almost a trillion more than AIG's at its peak. JPMorgan Chase has $9.2 trillion, or almost five times more than AIG. And globally, the Bank of International Settlements reports a total of $57.3 trillion in credit default swaps, more than 28 times larger than AIG's CDS portfolio.
Clearly, the money available to the U.S. government is too small for a crisis of these dimensions.
Larry Potter
www.ATicketToWealth.com
Saturday, March 14, 2009
The U.S. dollar recently set new highs...
...by touching a level not reached since early 2006.
But the move that sent the dollar above overhead resistance hasn't held.
All the efforts to push back to those highs have been met with overpowering selling pressure.
Both the bears and bulls have been participating, no doubt about it. But the bears have been in the driver's seat lately.
HOME SELLER ASSIST - THE TOUR
Larry Potter
www.ATicketToWealth.com
But the move that sent the dollar above overhead resistance hasn't held.
All the efforts to push back to those highs have been met with overpowering selling pressure.
Both the bears and bulls have been participating, no doubt about it. But the bears have been in the driver's seat lately.
HOME SELLER ASSIST - THE TOUR
Larry Potter
www.ATicketToWealth.com
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
What actions should you take?
A good program will get you excited to get started. All you will be thinking about is "Firing"!
Taking action is critical to your success, but first take the time to make a plan.
This is the second half of getting ready. You have to know WHAT you want to achieve, but you also need to figure out HOW you will use what you've learned to achieve it. Then, take action!
When we took our first real estate investing program years ago, we skipped right through to taking action. We didn't carefully consider our long-range objectives. So we didn't have any real idea of what we should be getting out of the program. We just knew that we wanted to be rich real estate investors. The sooner the better!
Had we taken a few hours to set realistic, specific goals for ourselves, we could have saved tens of thousands of dollars on repairs and fines for the kind of buildings we shouldn't have bought, and three years of headaches with terrible tenants. And we could have achieved our goal of becoming millionaire real estate investors that much faster.
Taking good programs and learning from mentors is an excellent way to acquire the tools you need to take action and realize your dreams. But save yourself money and pain by getting "Ready" before you "Fire." Then - later - the "Aiming" part comes really easy.
Larry Potter
www.ATicketToWealth.com
Taking action is critical to your success, but first take the time to make a plan.
This is the second half of getting ready. You have to know WHAT you want to achieve, but you also need to figure out HOW you will use what you've learned to achieve it. Then, take action!
When we took our first real estate investing program years ago, we skipped right through to taking action. We didn't carefully consider our long-range objectives. So we didn't have any real idea of what we should be getting out of the program. We just knew that we wanted to be rich real estate investors. The sooner the better!
Had we taken a few hours to set realistic, specific goals for ourselves, we could have saved tens of thousands of dollars on repairs and fines for the kind of buildings we shouldn't have bought, and three years of headaches with terrible tenants. And we could have achieved our goal of becoming millionaire real estate investors that much faster.
Taking good programs and learning from mentors is an excellent way to acquire the tools you need to take action and realize your dreams. But save yourself money and pain by getting "Ready" before you "Fire." Then - later - the "Aiming" part comes really easy.
Larry Potter
www.ATicketToWealth.com
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