Jim Fink – InvestingDaily.com
I wasn’t always into options.
Back in the ‘80s, I was slaving away for 70 hours a week in Chicago, for a law firm that Forbes called “the most powerful firm on Wall Street.”
I was burning the midnight oil for clients like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
And I was miserable.
Fortunately for me, the Chicago options exchange was right down the street. I started spending my lunch hour watching the options traders on the floor.
They were making a lot more money than me, working far fewer hours, and having a whole lot more fun!
So I got friendly with some of the traders at the exchange – and started learning the ropes.
After a crash course in options trading… reading dozens of books… and pestering the seasoned market makers with countless questions… I began trading options myself.
I started out with $50,000 (much more than I needed, actually), and over the next 10 years continued to perfect this strategy.
By 2001, my $50,000 had grown into $5.3 million.
That’s a return of 10,600%.
As you can guess, I never would’ve made that much money, that fast by slaving away as a lawyer.
That’s when I decided to quit my job and trade options full-time. And I’ve been trading ever since.
(Related: Get my full back story right here)
Now, I’m not promising you’ll turn $50,000 into $5.3 million just like me.
I was young and single and I “bet the farm” on risky trades that I don’t do anymore. Now that I’m supporting a family, I stick to safer trades that funnel steady sums into my bank account every month, with little chance of ever turning against me.
Believe It or Not, I Could Win Even More Than 85% of the Time If I Wanted…
You’re probably thinking, “What?! Why wouldn’t you win more often if you could?”
Let me explain…
During a nearly five year period I made 346 total trade recommendations, and 293 made money – an 84.7% success rate.
That’s unheard of for most investors – in stocks, options or anything else.
In fact, Marketocracy, a company that audits the performance of top investors, says that “a winning percentage of 66% would be excellent and would rank among our best investors.”
My win rate is well above that figure of excellence.
But as you’re about to learn, it actually understates how often I’ve been right.
Because that percentage was dragged down by 15 losing “hedge” trades I made to protect gains from a bear market.
Losing on hedges is okay. They only pay if the market turns against us, so I’m always glad when they don’t work out.
Think of them like homeowners insurance – something you pay for but hope you’ll never need to cash in.
Of course, those hedge trades hurt my win rate, but it’s for a good cause.
It’s like when a quarterback throws the ball away to avoid a sack. His quarterback rating drops, but it’s for the good of the team.
Here’s the thing: If you don’t want to use these insurance trades, you don’t have to. And you’ll probably have an even higher win rate.
In fact, the crux of my strategy, what I call “conservative income” trades, have seen win rates over 91%.
These safe plays aren’t going to shoot to the moon, but they churn out cash for us like a Swiss clock.
A while back I had one of my most profitable months using trades like this. 12 of the trades ended in a total profit of $12,910:
| Stock Zimmer Holdings Panera Bread Gold ETF iShares 20+ Year U.S. Treasury ETF Hasbro Praxair Walt Disney V. F. Corp. Kohl’s Corp. Crown Holdings The Coca-Cola Company Cognizant Technology Solutions |
Profit per 10-contract trade $1,200 $1,350 $1,150 $1,100 $1,100 $1,200 $950 $1,110 $1,300 $1,050 $410 $1,000 |
And remember, success like this isn’t out of the ordinary.
Many people that follow my work are collecting payments of $1,500, $2,000 and even $4,000 several times each month.
In fact, so many of my followers have collected over $100,000 that I’ve started a “$100,000 Club.”
Let me be clear, these people are not investment geniuses.
They’re regular Joes who were willing to take a chance and try a new way of building wealth.
An approach that Forbes says is “like finding money in the street.”
And that Barron’s thinks is “too often ignored by investors.”
In fact, so many retirees are now trading options that Reuters calls it the “new Baby Boomer hobby.”
I hear all the time from subscribers who are ecstatic they decided to give options trading a try.
After all, who wouldn’t be glad when you’re consistently collecting anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 on every trade you make?
If this sounds interesting to you, I encourage you to check out this presentation I recently gave on my options approach.