For the past three months, the major market indices have tended to trade within a relatively tight range. This has made it difficult for traders to find stocks that are presenting any significant directionality. Take a look at the chart of the S&P 500 below: Notice that a significant level […]

One of the benefits of being a coach for OptionsANIMAL is that I get to see the paper trading portfolios of our students. To say that I have seen some interesting trades and some interesting portfolios would be an understatement. Most of the time the portfolios and the trades are […]

One of the benefits of being a coach for OptionsANIMAL is that I get to see the paper trading portfolios of our students. To say that I have seen some interesting trades and some interesting portfolios would be an understatement. Most of the time the portfolios and the trades are […]

What exactly is it that causes a stock’s price to rise or fall? Economists will tell you that it’s the market forces attempting to find the equilibrium point between supply and demand. So the next logical question then would be; what causes supply and demand to become unbalanced? The answer […]

In the world of equity options, there are two broad categories of spread trades; the debit spread and the credit spread. What are they and how are they different? In this article I will define each and touch on why a trader might use one over the other. Before I […]

So, what is a stock anyway? Buying a stock signifies buying a piece of the company it’s issued from. It’s an ownership position. Owning stock in a company means a piece of every desk, computer and most importantly a portion of the company’s profits belongs to you. Stock in a […]

Risk management is a critical component of successful investing. Without proper risk management, investing becomes little more than a haphazard activity which is unlikely to produce consistently positive results. Proper risk management involves a commitment to disciplined trading. In this article I’m going to discuss two broad areas of risk […]

Risk management is a critical component of successful investing. Without proper risk management, investing becomes little more than a haphazard activity which is unlikely to produce consistently positive results. Proper risk management involves a commitment to disciplined trading. In this article I’m going to discuss two broad areas of risk […]

Fiscal cliffs, debt ceiling debates, euro zone worries, and a slowing economy have investors wondering what they should do now… Buy and hold? Trade the fast burners? Buy gold coins and bullion? Go to cash? Just what exactly should an investor do in such uncertain times? When the day to […]