Stock Forex

I also like to share in the profits of the company. I take all the dividends I can take, but for the most part I’d rather the company keep the profits and expand the business.

These dividends include regular dividends, irregular divi­dends (which I look for all the time), a cash distribution (which may not be taxable, but which reduces the price of the stock which could be sold for a loss), and MIPS, or Monthly Income Preferred Securities—large companies which pay out monthly checks.

One of my strategies is to own the stock long enough (sometimes as little as one day) to capture the dividend. Wait until it increases in value, then sell it. I do this every quarter with certain stocks.

Options

Buying stock options gives the investor a chance to control large amounts of stocks with a small amount of money. An option gives you the right (not the obligation) to buy or sell a stock. Because options end—they expire—they are very risky.

If you learn how to play them well, the profits can be phenomenal. I’ve written extensively on many forms of options investing elsewhere, so only a brief synopsis is here.

CALL OPTIONS: a right to buy stock. You buy these when you think the stock is going up. This could be on a SLAM (serious down movement), a roll, (when the stock is at the bottom of the roll range), or a stock with good news, et cetera. In short, when you think the stock has pressure to move up, buy a call, ride it up, and sell.

PUT OPTIONS: a right to sell stock. You build value in your put option as the stock decreases. Buy puts when the stock hits a high, or is at the top of its roll range, in short, when you think the high price can’t be sustained.

ROLLING OPTIONS: buying calls or selling puts when a stock is at its low range and then buying a put, or selling a call, when it peaks out and starts back down. Look at the following:

This gives you a way to make money on both sides of the movement.

SELL CALLS—COVERED: writing covered calls is perhaps my favorite way to generate consistent cash flow. Yes, there are other ways I make more money, but not as consistently. This method lets you generate income (in one day) by selling a call option on stock you already own or stock you’ve purchased for just this purpose.

The rules include:

1.    Buying stock on margin—this allows you to double your rate of return.

2.    Volatility—almost like a rolling stock so we can take advantage of the swings.

3.    Keeping within the $5 to $25 price range for maxi­mum returns with a small amount of cash tied up.

There are many variations, techniques, and examples found in my other books.

As the stock moves down, the price of the options moves down also. In writing covered calls, we either sell the call (uncovered—if we don’t own the stock) or buy the stock (hopefully at the low) and wait to sell the call as the stock increases. We want maximum cash flow so we sell at the “maximum” time.

We bought the stock at $4 and sold the $5 call (about 35 days away—the next month) for $1.25 when the stock was $4.87. At the time we bought the stock, the $5 call was 12.5c We take advantage of the stock movement, hence compounding the option rate of return.

UNCOVERED CALLS: many of you won’t be able to do this until you have more experience or more cash in your account. This is called “going naked,” in that you don’t own the stock. You use this strategy when the stock is at the high part of its range. You sell the call—generating pure cash. You wait. As the stock moves down, your obligation to deliver (sell) the stock goes down and eventually disappears as the time expires. You made money with no investment. The risk is that if the stock goes up, you’ll have to buy it at a higher price (offset by the cash you made for selling the call). Don’t sell calls on stocks you think are going up; either buy the stock low (covered) and wait to sell the call—get­ting a higher premium for the options and eventually sell­ing (getting called out) at a higher price, or sell the call when the stock is high—wait for a dip and then:

a.    buy the stock or

b.   buy back the option or

c.    just let the option expire and keep the cash!

SELLING PUTS: this is a great way to make money. You sell a put, generating income. You are selling the right for someone to put (sell) the stock to you at a fixed price. You use this strategy when the stock is low and heading up. The income (premium) you received is yours to keep. As the stock rises, the put option you sold goes down in value. You could either buy back the option at a lower price and keep the difference, or let it lapse on the expiration date. If the stock has risen above the strike price, no one will put it to you. If you do have to buy the stock, the cost is offset by the premium received—like buying wholesale.

TANDEM PLAYS: there are many combinations, but my favorite is a combination of buying/selling calls and buying/ selling puts. Here is how it works (see the chapter: “Tandem Plays” for more on this).

When the stock is low, sell a put and buy a call—both strategies gain advantage with an increase in the stock price. You make money now selling the put and you make more later selling the call option you purchased.

When the stock is high, sell a call and buy a put. You make money on each as the stock moves down. This gives you four plays on a rolling stock with options.

SHORT SELLING: short selling allows you to borrow stock, sell it and generate income. As the stock moves down, you purchase it, pay off the loan (borrowed stock) and pocket the difference. Its easier said than done, but in my case, I’d rather buy puts if I think the stock is going down. I use short selling when I’ve sold a na­ked call and have to per­form. I’ll bor­row stock to cover my posi­tion and hope it turns down.

BLUE CHIPS: there are so many definitions of blue chips that you need to make up your own definition.

These are the stocks you want to own for a long time. They could be brand name stocks, large companies that have fallen out of favor, even regional companies you can identify with.

Cash Flow

Use your profits from selling stocks/options for investing in real estate or other investments like businesses or put your money into good, solid, Blue Chips. The name of the game is to get your stock market profit buying your “hold” invest­ments.

You choose the percentages of your money that work best for you. This is a good solid growth.