How to Protect Your Portfolio Against Fleece

March 25, 2015
CNBC: How to protect your portfolio against Greece

Buying put spreads on the S&P 500 allows one to make a defined-risk bet that stocks will drop, protecting against a fall of a given magnitude within a given time.

Got it. Bought those downside puts. Feelin' good about my chances to outsmart my financial gambling counterparts over at Goldman Sachs using this sure thing "As Seen on TV" time-tested trading strategy.

March 25, 2015
CNBC: This could be the best way to bet on stocks now

The bottom line, however, is simple. Given current pricing dynamics, if one wants to increase one's exposure to the market, buying slightly out-of-the-money upside calls is not a bad way to do it.

Got it. Bought those upside calls. Feelin' good about my chances to outsmart my financial gambling counterparts over at Goldman Sachs using this sure thing "As Seen on TV" time-tested trading strategy.

Now that I have protected myself with zero-sum game gambling puts and am swinging for the fences with zero-sum game gambling calls, what do I do next? Is it safe to store them both in the same online account? I only ask because mixing matter and antimatter tends to create a rather impressive explosion.

Derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction. - Warren Buffett

Keep in mind that there must be one loser for every winner in the derivatives market. Based on the impressive trading revenue of Goldman Sachs, I think one can pretty much assume who the loser will be.

The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick. Couldn't even afford "crude" medication after dabbling in the $691 trillion derivatives market.