chess strategy, options portfolio strategy

With Put Options, Portfolio Strategy is of Premium Importance

While put option buyers are interested in insuring their risk, put option sellers (also called put writers) are willing to take on that risk in exchange for additional portfolio income, explains Dave Gilreath, Sheaff Brock Managing Director. That income takes the form of premiums paid by the put buyer to the put seller. Put writing is a strategy whereby an investor writes a contract, selling that contract to a buyer. The contract obligates the put seller to buy share at [...]

Process for Stock Options | Sheaff Brock

Selling Put Options: A Strategy for Those Who Want a Bit More

There are two main reasons, explain James Cordler and Michael Gross, writing in Futuresmag.com, for the popularity of option selling: investors’ ability to generate reliable income generally positive performance under varying market conditions However, the authors caution, there is no free lunch here, and option selling has its own set of risks. Two mistakes Cordler and Gross see investors make include: selling too many options relative to account size being too concentrated in a particular market sector Dave Gilreath, manager of [...]

bad news on a road sign showing fear center of the brain controlling our investment decisions

Don’t Let “False Negatives” Lead to “False Fixes”

Whenever we see portfolio losses, the alarm system in our brain tends to go into overdrive – “Don’t just stand there – DO something!” it silently screams to our more rational selves.  And the more often we look and listen to financial media messages, Jay Mooreland, author of The Emotional Investor, points out,  the more our amygdala, fear center of the brain, is likely to exert its uncanny power over our actions. When logic is allowed to prevail, on the other [...]

emotional investing financial news of the day instead of long-term investment strategy

Focus Away from the News “Of The Day”

Is following the financial media the best way for investors to stay informed? Do all those news broadcasts about stock quotes and stories of the day help investors make wise decisions? The answer, at least in the view of Jay Mooreland, author of The Emotional Investor, is a resounding “NO!” Think about the material presented by the typical financial news program, Mooreland told our Sheaff Brock investment team. Stock quotes? They are “of the day.” News stories? “Of the day.” [...]

preferred stock income; investment income from preferred stock

Preferreds Continue in a Starring Role

In the ever increasing search for income, preferred stocks continue to play an important role for companies and investors alike, with the Standard and Poor’s Preferred Index ETF (PFF) clocking 2.2 billion in new investment dollars year to date. By way of quick review, preferreds are hybrid securities, blending traits of both stocks and bonds. Like common stock, preferreds represent ownership in a company, but without voting privileges; like bonds, preferreds are issued at a fixed par value and rated [...]