I have been trading for 3 years, mostly doing strategic options selling. Semi-directional and non directional ( Naked puts and diagonal spreads ).
I know enough about options to keep selling them for the next 10 years. Last year my account was up more than 30% so please don't tell me that all it takes is one time to blow up. Risk management is critical does not matter what you do.
Lately I started with some trend trading today I bought 2000 shares of SPY and at the end of the day I am down $ 2000.
I can hold some heat, but it annoys me. I looked at Michael Covel book, I know he has a case for trend trading the reurns of the best trend traders speaks volume, it works.
But...it seems to me really complex to get good, while options selling seem much easier. All I aim for is between 1.5% to 3 % each month. It is really boring almost as watching paint dry but it works.
I looked at the performance of some trend followers and although annualized can get as high as 20% for the last 10 - 15 years, (pretty awesome), but there are also years where they can be down 8% - 10 % or more.
It would bother me to be 8% down for the end of the year, with the kid of money I manage 20% is plenty to make a great living.
Here is my question: do you think that one style is better than the other or do you believe that it is more about the trader style and both approaches work ?
And ulimately, would you try to do both, and spend A LOT OF TIME to learn them, or would you get as good as you can at one thing only ? ( I know a few things about analysis paralysis )
I love trading, it is all I do, but to me trading and the money made is really about finding a better ballance in our life. The money per se doesn't mean much and besides I don't think, as humans we are supposed to spend so much tme in front of a screen when outside there is a sunny day and we can also do other things to do with the time we have.
Isn't this really why we trade for ? To maximize our most precious commodity, time.
I know enough about options to keep selling them for the next 10 years. Last year my account was up more than 30% so please don't tell me that all it takes is one time to blow up. Risk management is critical does not matter what you do.
Lately I started with some trend trading today I bought 2000 shares of SPY and at the end of the day I am down $ 2000.
I can hold some heat, but it annoys me. I looked at Michael Covel book, I know he has a case for trend trading the reurns of the best trend traders speaks volume, it works.
But...it seems to me really complex to get good, while options selling seem much easier. All I aim for is between 1.5% to 3 % each month. It is really boring almost as watching paint dry but it works.
I looked at the performance of some trend followers and although annualized can get as high as 20% for the last 10 - 15 years, (pretty awesome), but there are also years where they can be down 8% - 10 % or more.
It would bother me to be 8% down for the end of the year, with the kid of money I manage 20% is plenty to make a great living.
Here is my question: do you think that one style is better than the other or do you believe that it is more about the trader style and both approaches work ?
And ulimately, would you try to do both, and spend A LOT OF TIME to learn them, or would you get as good as you can at one thing only ? ( I know a few things about analysis paralysis )
I love trading, it is all I do, but to me trading and the money made is really about finding a better ballance in our life. The money per se doesn't mean much and besides I don't think, as humans we are supposed to spend so much tme in front of a screen when outside there is a sunny day and we can also do other things to do with the time we have.
Isn't this really why we trade for ? To maximize our most precious commodity, time.