My Options University Strategist Experience, to Date

Last month, I had been fairly excited about the Option University Strategist trading service. It launched to the public last month, but they had actually started trading in October for a select group of "in-house" clients.

Now that I am almost a month into this, my enthusiasm still remains pretty high. I thought I would show you a couple trades that are now closed, just to give you an idea of what you might find as a subscriber.

Generating More Than 100% Returns on the SPYder

The first trade that I will share with you is one that was open on the SPYder, an the ETF fund that approximates the S&P 500 index. The trade was opened October 10, 2007. This was the day before the index hit its recent peak, just prior to this latest round of selling.

The Strategist service recommended the purchase of 10 November $159 put options. With the underlying at about $156 per share, a stop was placed at $157.70, with a profit target setat $151 per share. These put options cost $4.25, so the cost to enter the trade buying 10 contracts was $4250.

The position was closed on October 24, 2007. The profit target had been reached and the puts were sold for $9 dollars per contract, or $9,000 in gross proceeds. This translated into about 111% return on capital. Not bad for two weeks ork!

Grabbing Over 120% In Three Days

Another trade during the month of October was on BRCM, consisting of a long strangle. The position was opened on October 8, 2007 with the purchase of the October $37.50 call option and the October $35.00 dollar put option. Earnings were scheduled for October 19, 2007. Implied volatility was low, allowing for an inexpensive entry, and a triangle pattern was present.

On October 19, 2007, the long call expired worthless. However, on October 11, 2007, the put option was sold for substantial profit producing little over 120% profit on the trade.

These are just two of many trades that have been identified by the traders at Options University. finding and planning trades such as this, picks a fair bit of skill and quite a bit of time. I know, because I've done it.

What options University strategist provides is an alternative, whereby professional traders will do the "grunt work" for you and issue to trade for your consideration. If it looks good do you and fits your particular needs, you need only place you're with your options broker.

Modifying Trade Recommendations for Your Portfolio

You may find that the number of contracts being traded by the service may be too few, for too many, for your portfolio. I don't see any reason why most of these trades cannot be sized up or down. In other words, once receive a recommendation it is always your prerogative to decide how best to apply the recommendation in the context of your individual trading plan. If your plan calls for a maximum risk of no more than $1000, you might not trade and contracts but simply limit your position to one or two contracts.

Options University Strategist Service

Tomorrow's a start of a new month, so it is time to reflect back on your recent trades and determine how you have fared. If you find that you are in need of some assistance, you might want to consider enlisting these services of the traders at Options University.

Trade well!

Christopher Smith
TheOptionClub.com

Stock Options Trade Advisory Service With Promise

Not much going on with the SPX worth talking about. With less than 30-days until the March expiration I will soon write the month off and begin looking toward April for trading possibilities. You should also note that on February 20th, CROX will be reporting earnings.

I do have something to tell you about, however!

Last night I sat in on a presentation by Ron Ianieri about a new service he is involved with and in the process of launching. I have worked with Ron and his team for a few years now. They guy is really pretty incredible when it comes to options and has taught me a great deal.

In any event, he has teamed up with a guy by the name of Shay Horowitz who is a chart reading wizard, apparently. Shay, I don't know him, but I know Ron and know that he chooses his company selectively. So what these guys did is put together an options trading advisory service.

I have never recommended an advisory service. Candidly, when I first started trading options I signed up for a few of them. I never made money from any of them. The problem is that these services don't manage your account, but simply publish a series of trades and there isn't much in the way of oversight. Fortunately, I wizened up and discovered that either you've got to manage your own account or you have to hire a real live registered investment advisor.

I have consider starting an advisory service myself, but if I did I wanted it to be something different. I would want it to be a place where subscribers could learn to use the information being provided to responsibly manage their own accounts. Who knows? I may still do it.

Ron Ianieri is doing it. I sat in on a "pre-launch" presentation last night to see what Ron and his crew were up to. As he described it, the service consists of Shay Horowitz identifying stocks that he things ripe for the trading. He passes those along to Ron with his assessment of what he things the stock is going to do and when it is going to do it. Ron applies his skill as an options strategist and trader, selecting a strategy that not only captures the anticipated price action but that also sets the trade up for future adjustment. They put all of this together in a detailed video, which you grab from their web site.

There is more, but what you should understand at this point is that you're not simply getting instructions to pass along to your broker. You are getting a video presentation by two highly skilled people, showing how and why they are doing what it is that they are doing. You not only get their trades, but you get to learn how they find them and think their way through them.

They are also going to offer a "Platinum" service, which has a live trader available during market hours watching the trades. If things get a little dicey intra-day and you're getting nervous, wondering what Ron will be doing in the evening video, you can express yourself live!

I am excited by this new service. No small part of my enthusiasm is due to the fact that Ron Ianieri is behind it. The concept behind it all is that Ron wants to empower his subscribers with enough knowledge and understanding that eventually they can go out and trade on their own, without the need for his service.

Anyway, it was a good presentation and I thought I would pass it along. You can get more information at:

http://www.shogunoptionstrading.com

Good trading!

Christopher Smith
TheOptionClub.com