I’m mostly a lurker here, but I’ve been around for a while despite the low post count. I know enough about options and vol to follow Des’s trades reasonably well and to share ideas back and forth with the likes of filthy and chrilly (who most here would not know, but who is a very smart guy in this area nonetheless). In short I know enough about the subject to recognize options bs when I see it.
I recently decided to see what Kim’s service had to offer, and what I found was exactly as described by him here. No secret sauce. The trade ideas employed are straightforward and well explained. Clear information about what trades are being considered is supplied in advance and actual fills are recorded and reported both by Kim and by other members who follow his trades. If you use Livevol or similar for t&s it’s easy enough to look up those trades and confirm that they occurred as described. All trade & discussion info on past trades is available to view as well, so if you feel it necessary to confirm those back trades you can do that too.
Bottom line is that there’s nothing deceptive or “snake oil” about what he offers. The process and the trades may suit you, or not, but they are genuine trades that any patient trader can duplicate if they want to. The trading record provided is sufficiently clear that those with the desire to do so can independently confirm its veracity.
As to why his service would interested me? My trades are primarily short premo and consequently negative skew, so adding long vol trades that can provide a positive return is very useful. I was willing to pay to see what he had to offer in that respect, and so far I figure I’ve received fair value for my money.
