Over the past ten years there have been many more people taking steps to manage their own money, me included! Why is this?
In early 2009 many people bemoaned the huge declines in their retirements accounts. They had worked all their adult lives to slowly build up their nest egg to support them in their golden years and in too many cases they suffered major declines in less than one year. These were not isolated stories, since we had just survived the Bear Market of 2008.
These stories were all too familiar, since I had suffered a similar fate when the Tech Bubble Burst in 2000. The difference was that I was still actively employed in 2000 and had several years of full earning power to recover before my retirement.
One of my favorite authors, William J. O’Neil, addressed this in his 2009 updated edition of How to Make Money in Stocks. He wrote, “Events in recent years should tell you it’s time for you to educate yourself, take charge, and learn how to handle and take responsibility for your own financial future: your 401 (k), your mutual funds, and your stock portfolio. These events include Bernie Madoff’s theft of billions from supposedly intelligent people through his super secretive operations, which were never transparent, as he never told anyone how he was investing their money; the public’s heavy losses from the topping stock markets of 2000 and 2008; and the use of excess leverage by Wall Street firms that couldn’t even manage their own money with prudence and intelligence, forcing them into bankruptcy or shotgun weddings.” (page 303)
From my personal experience in 2000 I became interested in learning about the conservative use of options to protect my financial future. The path to becoming a successful options investor is littered with hucksters seeking to build their own financial base rather than deliver the education they promise. Thankfully there is at least one focused on deliverables; OptionsANIMAL.
Baby Boomers, Dot Coms, and even Tweeters find tremendous value in learning about the rights, obligations, and characteristics of options instruments. May your search lead you to a clear path lined only with honest and worthy teachers.
Emilu Bailes
OptionsANIMAL Instructor
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