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Options risk management strategies

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options risk management strategies

The information on this website solely reflects the analysis of or opinion about the performance of securities and financial markets by the writers whose articles appear on the site. The views expressed by the writers are not necessarily the views of Minyanville Media, Inc. Nothing contained on the website is intended to constitute a recommendation or advice addressed to an individual investor or category of investors to purchase, sell or hold any security, or to take any action with respect to the prospective movement of the securities markets or to solicit the purchase or sale of any security. Any investment decisions must be made by the reader either individually or in consultation with his or her investment professional. Minyanville writers and staff may trade or hold positions in securities that are discussed in articles appearing on the website. Writers of articles are required to disclose whether they have a position in any stock or fund discussed in an article, but are not permitted to disclose the size or direction of the position. Nothing on this website is intended to solicit business of any kind for a writer's business or fund. Minyanville management and staff as well as contributing writers will not respond to emails or other communications requesting investment advice. Copyright Minyanville Media, Inc. The article you are trying to read is not available now. Thank you very much; you're only a step away from downloading your reports. You will receive a download link right in your email inbox for each of the free reports that you choose. By Steve Smith Apr 26, Veteran options trader Steve Smith breaks down risk management. To help investors profitably navigate the options risk, Minyanville has launched "9 Weeks to Better Options Trading," an educational series aimed at risk trader understanding of the nuts and bolts of options, with an emphasis on real-world applications. In this series, veteran options trader Steve Smith will demystify a range of topics from options pricing to trading strategies to special situations like earnings reports and takeovers. Read the kick-off to the series here. And always, always have an exit strategy. Ask strategies in any field -- business, sports, medicine, risk the arts -- what it takes to achieve measurable success and without a doubt, they will mention consistency. A good definition of consistency is the ability to produce above-average results over a long period of time. For the most part, those that occupy the various "Halls of Fame" did it through a lifetime of above-average achievement. Taking big risks may be exciting for near-term glory, but long-term success, particularly in management, is an outgrowth of properly managing risk. And by avoiding situations that can lead to complete failure, we put ourselves in a position to succeed. Allocation Flows Downstream The concept of asset allocation is the big tree under which all investment strategies should operate. Allocation can be boiled down to "don't put all your eggs in strategies basket. And it is a concept that flows downhill. By this I mean, one shouldn't have his or her entire investment portfolio in just equities, but diversified across various asset classes such as bonds, real estate and commodities. Ideally, there should be an element of diversification within each asset class. Most people will have a preponderance of equities, but within that base, make sure a variety of sectors are represented. Holdings like Apple AAPL and Google Options can represent technology, while ExxonMobil XOM can give exposure to energy, and Coca-Cola KO to consumer staples. Risk obviously, no one sector should represent too big a piece of a portfolio. Theoretically, a well-balanced and diversified portfolio will help minimize large swings or losses during times of volatility. But as we have seen in recent years, the market, especially during downturns, has become incredibly correlated. The bursting of management housing bubble didn't just take down housing and financial stocks -- all asset classes, including commodities and many fixed-income instruments pretty much fell uniformly. Options Into the Breach So what does all this basic common sense about diversification have to do with options? First of all, options, especially through the prism options volatility, can certainly be viewed as a distinct asset class. As such, they can be used to hedge or protect your overall investment portfolio. I discussed portfolio hedging in a prior article, and that topic is beyond the scope of this piece. Given their leverage, an options-based portfolio can easily be the tail that wags the management. So here are some basic rules of thumb for managing management risk of an option portfolio: So if a position turns out to be a total loss, the overall drawdown on that particular trade would be 2. Set price targets and stop loss prices that have probabilities in your favor. Trade the strategies that you are comfortable with. To this day, I don't trade VIX products like the Credit Suisse 2X VIX TVIX or double management products because I'm simple not comfortable with their construction and behavior. No one asked Pete Rose to hit homers. He wasn't good at swinging for the fences, but he sure could hit singles. If you're a grinder, work on covered calls and vertical spreads. If you're Dave Kingman, try to knock one over the pyramids. Maybe these aren't the best examples as neither are Hall of Famers for different reasons, but you get the idea. So once again, the bottom line is that managing risk is about having a plan, understanding your risk threshold, and being fully aware of the plusses and minuses of the strategy chosen. And always have an exit strategy -- for better or worse. Here is a complete schedule for "9 Weeks to Better Options Trading": Understanding Implied Volatility and Time Decay Week 3: The Power of Calendar Spreads Week 4: Butterfly Spreads Week 5: Iron Condors Week 6: Risk Reversals Week 7: Back Spreads Week 8: Managing Risk Week 9: Earnings Reports, Takeovers, options Extreme Market Moves For risk from Steve Smith, take a FREE day trial to OptionSmith and get his specific options trades emailed to you along with exclusive access to his full portfolio. Strategies 30 professional traders share their ideas in real-time. View As One Strategies. Follow Us On Twitter. 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