Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) hold $2.17 trillion in assets. Almost every investment style is represented. ETFs based on commodities’ prices may help investors hedge against inflation and round out their asset allocation. Commodities represent a range of resources, from Precious…
When investing in fixed income, the focus frequently concentrates on yield – how much the investment pays as an annualized percentage of the amount invested. During periods of low interest rates, such as the one we are in now, investors…
Target Date Mutual Funds (TDF) are designed to adjust its asset allocation as the “target date” approaches to help investors plan for specific goals. For example, a 40-year old investor planning to retire in 25 years might choose a 2040…
Many investors have come to understand the potential benefits of adding portfolio insurance via the purchase of put options on the most popular index ETF, SPY – SPDR S+P 500 ETF Trust. Depending upon the strike-price and expiration chosen and…
It has been said that, “the single best time to buy a stock is when, given bad news, the stock refuses to go down anymore” – Justin Mamis in The Nature of Risk. This is a simplification of what is…
What can an investor or trader do if they have experienced a nice run up in a stock and would like to protect their unrealized profits? Or perhaps a stock has been tracing out a technical pattern which, if the…
If nothing else the options market is fair/efficient. We have faith in the integrity of the market, allowing us to focus on our trades and less on the “fairness” of options prices. But what evidence is there to support this?…
If you have ever wondered how to predict stock movement in response to an earnings announcement, here’s a neat little trick. To use it, we need to go to the options market. There is a strategy called a short straddle….