Anyone who knows me knows that I often offer unsolicited advice in the form of some statement like “You should [fill in the blank].” For example, I pretty much tell anyone I see “You should trade put credit spreads on the SPY!” The truth is, I have no business telling people what they should do—not for the obvious reason that getting up in someone’s grill is not cool, but because investing and trading are personal. What makes sense to one person might not make sense to another. Likewise, what keeps me up at night might not keep you up at night.
What I write about on Stockpeer is my trading style. And I hope that by sharing I can inspire you to refine your own trading strategy. I am not expecting you to copy me directly; crafting your own strategy to meet your needs is key.
Traders who beat the indexes are engaged. They love what they do, and most likely they do not really care how much money they make because the trading itself excites them. Warren Buffett often says that he tap dances to work. He has found a method of trading that gets him high. I, however, would be bored to tears if I invested the way Buffett invests: I need more action, which is why I like to trade credit spreads and day trade the SPY. When picking a strategy you should first consider what will make you tap dance, and then worry about how to maximize returns.
