Hello everyone

Hi Thomas,

A few years ago, under the tutelage of some wizened market traders, I decided to make options trading on equities and indices (or speculating as it were) into one of my cash flow streams…apart from investing, just to clarify that my goal to pursue this was very different from risking long-term capital used for 'investing' where the preservation of wealth was of utmost importance.

Along with many others who learned to generate monthly cash flow by writing covered calls or trading options, I was successful (and trusting of my THEN 'never-say-bear-market' advisors) in an almost straight-up bull market of recent years, but of course, times have changed.

I have since learned much more than I ever thought I needed to know along the way through my personal experience of being caught off guard (with millions of others) when the Nasdaq took a sudden major down-draft in the spring of 2000…catching many average investors/traders unaware when several trillions of dollars were unexpectedly wiped out of the equities market... in just days.

This was a wake-up call not only to myself, but to many others who got caught long, especially, in their tech stock (with unbelievably high P/E ratios) long-term investment positions which have not even come close to recovering their old highs.

I agree with all you have said. Hedging is indeed a smart thing to do in today's market.
And, with more and more people self-directing their IRA’s, it becomes more important than ever for them to learn some of the more sophisticated hedging techniques in order to survive in this current market.

I do have an opinion about where I think that the market will move from here, but it is just that…an *opinion*. Even though I continue to study and learn, as I have for many years now, I would never consider trading or investing without ‘seasoned’ guidance…especially at this critical point in time.

I do believe that playing the market just one way…with call OR put options ONLY… is passé at this particular juncture.

Becoming more 'street smart' is something I would encourage everyone who is in control of their investments to strongly consider…even if they choose professional money management…it’s a good thing to know the views and competence of those you put in charge of your money, if you elect to do that… and are inclined to simply put your faith in the pro’s to grow it wisely. That 'faith' in the pro's doesn’t always work out, either, as evidenced by many of the mutual funds’ performance in the past two years.

I am encouraging of more education in money management...to be more savvy in what we ALL choose to do with our money, since that goes a long way in determing the choices that we have the luxury of making in all other aspects of our daily lives. But, of course, money is not everything......yet it's importance cannot be denied.

Thanks for your response Thomas...appreciate your input. :-)

Best regards,
Amber