Kim 7,503 Report post Posted September 6, 2013 Steady Options is considering to introduce auto-trading for the Anchor Trades strategy, but would like current and former member feedback prior to doing so. The price would be around $150 per month, and would include continued access to the Anchor Trades site and message boards. If introduced, the auto-trading will be limited to 100 members on first come first sign basis. We are seeking feedback on who may be interested, ideas on how you would personally like to see it implemented, and thoughts or concerns about the process. Please post your comments here if you would be interested, with ideas, suggestions, or questions. As always, we appreciate your input and feedback. Q: What is the Anchor strategy? A: You can find details about the Anchor strategy here. Q: What is auto-trading? A: In an “auto-trading” program, you establish an account at a brokerage firm that has agreed to accept trading instructions from the investment newsletter. In order to allow “auto-trading” in your account, you must sign an agreement with the broker authorizing it to accept trading instructions directly from the investment newsletter and to execute trades in your account without first getting your permission. The broker will make trades in your account without consulting you about the price, the type of security, the amount and when to buy or sell. Q: Which brokers will you consider for auto-trading? A: We will be looking for number of brokers, including: http://www.global-autotrading.com/autotrading-service/why-global-autotrading.html https://www.tdameritrade.com/retail-en_us/resources/pdf/TDA612.pdf TDAmeritrade does not accept new services for auto-trading, but we will try to get in. Q: Is the order execution fully automated ON ALL ACCOUNTS and all accounts get the same fills? A: All members get the same price since the orders are done in blocks and Anchor strategy trades SPY which is the most liquid vehicle. Q: Are the accounts separated or all the money is placed in one account? A: Unlike hedge fund, the money continues to be in your account and you have full control of it. You just authorize the broker to execute the orders in your account, based on our trade alerts. Q: Why you consider to auto-trade the Anchor strategy and not the SteadyOptions? A: Due to the style and nature of SteadyOptions trading, it is much less suitable for Auto-trading. In addition, SEC considers newsletters that engage in auto-trading to be investment advisers, and I'm not licensed to be an investment adviser. So most newsletters that engage in auto-trading are breaking the law and are exposed to lawsuits like this one. Your questions and comments are welcome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest sdbens2 Report post Posted September 9, 2013 How much money should I commit to using this program? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest sdbens2 Report post Posted September 9, 2013 (edited) Are commissions reflected in the performance results? What would the commission rate be for autotrading? Edited September 9, 2013 by sdbens2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfollis6 0 Report post Posted September 9, 2013 I use Global Auto-trading for another service. They advertise $70 monthly costs to use the service, but it is based on an account up to $100k. They charge a multiplier on larger accounts and my monthly fee to use them is about $350. If Global charges to execute the trades, I'm worried about paying their charges and the $150 you are asking. TD Ameritrade does not charge extra for auto-trading but the services they trade are quite limited. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfollis6 0 Report post Posted September 9, 2013 Also, Global Auto-trading only trades with certain brokers and there is no trading access to customers in the auto-traded accounts. I use Interactive Brokers and can pull up the account to view balances and trading confirms, but I have no access to place any trades in the account. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfollis6 0 Report post Posted September 9, 2013 Lastly, the service I auto-trade with uses Interactive Brokers and a few other brokers. They have been trying to add Ameritrade for a very long time (at least 6-7 months) and, while I am told it is going to happen soon, the partnership has not been completed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kim 7,503 Report post Posted September 9, 2013 How much money should I commit to using this program? Are commissions reflected in the performance results? What would the commission rate be for autotrading? With the recent advent of mini-options on SPY, any account with over $5,000.00 can implement this strategy. HOWEVER, be sure to calculate commissions when implementing. If you implement the strategy with the mini-options, there is a very real chance your commissions may eat up any gains you have, if not more. Ensure that your broker has a favorable commission structure for the trading of min-options. The trade alerts will be posted with regular SPY options. To implement the strategy, exactly as presented in the weekly trades, the minimum size account recommended is $48,000.00. Again though, this may be implemented with mini-options in smaller accounts. Commissions will depend on the broker we select for auto-trading. Performance numbers include commissions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kim 7,503 Report post Posted September 9, 2013 Also, Global Auto-trading only trades with certain brokers and there is no trading access to customers in the auto-traded accounts. I use Interactive Brokers and can pull up the account to view balances and trading confirms, but I have no access to place any trades in the account. This is strange. Could it be a matter of configuration? Usually the account stays in your full control even with auto-trading. Lastly, the service I auto-trade with uses Interactive Brokers and a few other brokers. They have been trying to add Ameritrade for a very long time (at least 6-7 months) and, while I am told it is going to happen soon, the partnership has not been completed. Ameritrade does not accept new service for a while, but we hope to be able to get in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chanson 0 Report post Posted September 10, 2013 With the recent advent of mini-options on SPY, any account with over $5,000.00 can implement this strategy. HOWEVER, be sure to calculate commissions when implementing. If you implement the strategy with the mini-options, there is a very real chance your commissions may eat up any gains you have, if not more. Ensure that your broker has a favorable commission structure for the trading of min-options. The trade alerts will be posted with regular SPY options. To implement the strategy, exactly as presented in the weekly trades, the minimum size account recommended is $48,000.00. Kim/Chris, While autotrading sounds great, the cost would have a significant impact on a $48,000 portfolio like the one I have dedicated to the Anchor strategy. With that portfolio size, I'm selling two SPY puts a week, so I would be paying $ 0.173 per week per put for the auto-trading charge (150*12 divided by 52*2), on top of my existing $ 0.057 per week for the Anchor membership (595/52/2). So I would be needing $ 0.23 more per put per week of income compared to the Model Portfolios. In practice, that would mean having to tweak the weekly trades and/or sell more puts. My conclusion seems to be that autotrading is cost-prohibitive for a $ 48,000 portfolio. Am I doing the math right? Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kim 7,503 Report post Posted September 10, 2013 I wouldn't change the strategy only because of higher cost of subscription. Those are two different things. I agree that percentage wise it is a bit high (3% of the 48k portfolio) and probably more suited for higher accounts. However, there are other factors to consider. Overall, Anchor strategy provides you a good protection in case of major market decline, at minimal cost. Auto-trading for many is a convenience since they have a hard time to follow the markets. Is it worth the price? It is up to you to decide. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Peticolas Report post Posted September 11, 2013 How much money should I commit to using this program? You should really discuss that with an investment advisor. It depends on your risk tolerance, age, etc. As an asset class, the Anchor Trades system would be considered a lower risk equity position. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest sdbens2 Report post Posted September 11, 2013 Is there a minimum account dollar amount where the impact of costs (comms and subscription) begins having the least negative effect on strategy performance? Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cwelsh 1,499 Report post Posted September 11, 2013 With the advent of "mini" options, you COULD do this with as little as $3,000.00. However, I generally recommend having at least a $10K allocation, and $30K would be even better. That said, each investors situation is entirely unique. For one person allocating 50% of their portfolio to this might be a good idea, while with others there may be almost no place in it for them. If you would like to actually talk about financial planning, allocations of portfolios, and building out a good model, that is what my investment advisory firm, lorintinecapital, does. Feel free to PM me, email me, or whatever is easiest. Autotrading would just be another way members could access the products and services we offer. We always try to come up with a method each client is comfortable with, whether its 100% self management to 100% assisted, and everything in between. (One of the advantages of being a small independent firm). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
