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4 Core Concepts…
Call Options, Put Options, Standard Options and Mini-Options As stated in last week's article "How an Option is Similar to an Insurance Policy, " the definition of an option is: "An option is a financial derivative that represents a contract sold by one party (option...
Toxic Trading Assumptions – What They Are and How You Can Avoid Falling Into Their Trap
Emotions are a by-product of what we expect from life in general. If good things are expected, we are usually full of optimism and energy. If bad things are expected, anxiety usually takes over. If we feel success will not come our way, we may feel discouraged. On the...
Remember the Basics
Winning traders don't underestimate the psychological part of trading. Although you certainly cannot trade profitably without adequate capital or reliable trading strategies, your personal psychology also plays a significant role. Consider what master traders have...
Dark Pools – What Are They?
Large players, such as investment companies, at times will use dark pools to execute their securities trades. Many times these large money managers want to hide their securities orders. These large players may not want others to see their activity. They are keeping...
American vs. European Options
American and European Options: An Overview There are two types or styles of equity options. One is an American style option and the other is a European style option. What are some of the similarities and differences in the two styles of options? If you buy a European...
Tips to Improve Your Trading Success by Tracking Your Results – Part II
As a follow up to the article published on November 24, 2016 on Scorekeeping which can be found here: Scorekeeping Part I, this week I will cover some additional tips about scorekeeping for your trading business. If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of...
Tips To Improve Your Trading Success by Tracking Your Results – Part I
You will likely find it very difficult to reach your trading goals if you do not "keep score." Keeping score is more than just tracking your profits and losses on a regular basis. Said another way… keeping score means being aware of how you're performing, and how this...
How the U.S. Election Will Effect the Markets
We all know the U.S. Presidential Election is on Tuesday, November 8th, just a few days away. We've seen how the S&P 500 has had nine straight days of losses, which hasn't happened since December 1980. The S&P 500 Let's take a look at the S&P 500 chart: The decline...
A Brief Overview of Three Types of Margin: Regulation T, Portfolio, and SPAN Margin.
In the United States there are three types of margin trading accounts which are widely used. They are Regulation T margin, Portfolio margin, and SPAN margin. Portfolio and SPAN margin accounts usually offer lower margin requirements, which can allow the possibility of...
Fair Value – What it Means for Options Traders
Most traders follow a certain routine in preparation for the trading day. For example, one of the first things I do after turning on my computer and logging into my trading platform is to check to see what futures are doing for the various indices. This gives me an...