Hi Everyone. I would be grateful for your feedback on a trading issue.
I'm returning to trading after a long break. I'm anticipating bear markets in the US and other key markets so my strategy is to use a combination of buying put options and shorting stocks. All of these strategies benefit from an overall downward market direction. I'm using Dr Alexander Elder's "The New Sell and Sell Short" Chapter 7 (2nd edition) to pick stocks to short. He gives a step by step method in that chapter and his reputation, 30 year track record and associations with people like Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad) are excellent.
My strategy is to start by trading put options first (I know people believe in virtual "paper" trading for a couple of months when trying out a new trading strategy). I anticipate some gains and losses as part of the experience of learning a new strategy as a trader. Losses with options are limited to the cost of the option premium. As I get better at it, I will move to shorting stocks. Making mistakes on put options are not as bad as making mistakes shorting stocks. The financial consequences of shorting stocks and "getting the trade wrong" are much worse because the losses are potentially unlimited! Clearly the potential gains are significant which is why I'll be using this bear market strategy.
Does anyone else have any experience of moving from trading put options to shorting stocks- How easily did your successes in put option trading translate into profits in shorting stocks? Do you think you can use the same strategy for finding "good" profitable put option to trade as you can for finding good stocks to short?