A Comment on Kim's Latest Performance Alter E-mail

[tjlocke99]

As you have noticed, SteadyOptions is going through a rough patch in the last two weeks. Market conditions and low IV certainly play a role, but I'm not looking for excuses. I'm taking full responsibility. You deserve better.

Losses are part of trading. Some of the latest losses were inevitable, but some have been caused by poor trade management. I broke my own rules with RUT Iron Condor and 2% gain turned into 27% loss in just 2 days (our biggest loss this year out of 173 trades). I held few other trades (FNSR, LULU, SPY) for too long, leaving a lot of money on the table. This is unacceptable, and I would like to take this opportunity and apologize for the latest performance.

Periods like this show us once again the importance of position sizing. If you followed the allocation guidelines, your overall account would suffer about 4-6% drawdown. Not pleasant but not a disaster. As you know, my money is on stake in every trade, so when you lose I lose too. In fact, I'm probably the only service where each trade alert comes with a screenshot of real fills from my broker. Maybe after the fantastic run we had in the previous months (especially in May and July) this is the way for Mr. Market to bring us back to earth.

I'm glad that many members did better than our official performance. Some were able to significantly reduce the loss in the RUT IC and SPY trades. This is one of the reasons why we don't do auto-trading. If I'm making poor decisions, you at least have a chance to improve them and to do better.

I want to assure you that I will work hard to get us back to where we should be. I will start introducing new strategies to the SO portfolio to expand our arsenal. I encourage more members to participate in our discussions and bring fresh ideas.

Thank you again for your continuing support.

Kim

Kim,

I couldn't find where this was posted on the site, but I have to tell you this is what makes you a real stand-up guy. I don't know anyone that would write such an honest e-mail. Well done Kim. Honestly you also don't have much to be sorry about. You discuss the risks up front. You have created an excellent community here. As long as I am able to afford it, I'll pay my monthly fee just for the chance to interact with some of the regular members on this site and you, regardless of the success of the earnings trades.

I wish you continued success.

Richard

[ammarmalhas]

I second what Richard is saying. Kim is doing a wonderful job and is showing unprecedented professionalism, genuine care and real responsibility that is seldom found in trading services and financial advisers.

There are no miracles in trading and loss is just as probable as gain, we all try to gain more often than we lose and that is when we win.

I am still learning and believe you me, what I have learned so far is far more valuable than the fees i have paid you

Keep it up Kim, I am with you all the way. More power to you. :)

[franck]

Same here.I am still learning and your service Kim is very valuable whatever the results are.You have all my support.

[BillP]

Ditto

[javelinodesousa]

I have been a member with SO for about a month. I took Kim's advice and kept my contracts small (approx 3 cont per trade). I managed to get into 13 trades. My overall loss is $ 25.00. My budget until I get a handle on earnings trading is $ 10000. My percentage loss is miniscule. However what I have learnt until now about Delta, Gamma and other nuances of Volitility trading has been invaluable. I avidly follow the comments of the more experienced members of our group. Thanks Kim. Keep up the good work! On another matter. Kim, how can I convert my monthly membership into an annual membership? and do you accept cheques ? Thanks (jaedes1310@gmail.com)

[csensen13]

Thanks Kim for the community you have set up and the transparency with which things are done on this forum - in my experience it's pretty difficult to find financial advice forums where the underlying feeling you experience is not one of being slowly ripped off.

So given that no-one has the magic bullet to option trading (or any trading for that matter), the sense of honesty, participation and professionalism you have shown throughout is something we can rely on even during some rough patches.

Let's go make some money....

Carlo

[jr1221]

The education has been very valuable. I never paid attention to greeks prior to joining, and now I can't imagine how I ever expected to be a profitable trader without them, especially using them to keep a portfolio properly balanced. And the lessons on position sizing and risk management have significantly helped my other trading accounts which use directional strategies. I think this forum will improve significantly as we diversify, allowing us to be pickier in selecting earnings trades, and passing on the ones where fills have become an issue. Keep it up Kim!

[Thaze]

My experience with SO has been one in which has really stood out to me, as I am sure it has to many others. Its a very rare occasion in this industry to find a mentor as caring, professional, and transparent as yourself. You have shown your willingness to go above and beyond to help members in any way possible and I am very grateful to be a part of this community you have built. The fee paid to be a part of this community is well worth the education alone, much less the additional profits often incurred. I personally appreciate everything you have done and look forward to being a member for quite some time to come. Thanks for everything Kim.

[BillP]

Yes, Ditto

[Hannes Kury]

My experience with SO has been one in which has really stood out to me, as I am sure it has to many others. Its a very rare occasion in this industry to find a mentor as caring, professional, and transparent as yourself. You have shown your willingness to go above and beyond to help members in any way possible and I am very grateful to be a part of this community you have built. The fee paid to be a part of this community is well worth the education alone, much less the additional profits often incurred. I personally appreciate everything you have done and look forward to being a member for quite some time to come. Thanks for everything Kim.

Well said Thaze. Thanks exactly how I feel. Congratulations Kim, and thanks! Hannes

[Xfanman]

I have to say that although I hate losses as much as anyone, they are part of investing and trying to make money. Kim, you do a stellar job being as transparent as you are and I really appreciate the candor you display in managing SO and that you display in your posts. I think it's a good idea to explore other investment strategies as you have already mentioned and have started to do and the addition of other columnists is a welcomed addition also. The fact that you quickly implement member feedback and changes when warranted and are concerned with "our" profitability as much or more than yours is apparent.

Thanks again for all you do and I'm proud to be an SO member.

Edited September 10, 2012 by Xfanman

[tjlocke99]

Kim,

Looks like you have some good comments for your future advertisements

Richard

[csensen13]

Kim,

Looks like you have some good comments for your future advertisements

Richard

Don't bring too many people on board though, otherwise the fills will become harder and harder...

[Kim]

Don't bring too many people on board though, otherwise the fills will become harder and harder...

Right. The membership is closed to new members since August 1, and only limited number of new members is allowed to our exclusive club, mainly replacing those who are cancelling.

Thank you everyone for your kind words, it means a lot to me.

[mike_tee_vee]

Kim, I echo everyone else's statements on the awesome service you provide, and congratulations on an absolutely stellar July.

Reviewing the year so far, it appears that February and August were low-volume, low-volatility market environments. Are these two factors cyclical throughout the year, or do they depend on larger macro factors?

[RobertB]

I completely agree with the sentiment of everyone who has written here. It is obvious to each of the members here that Kim really provides an A+ service. It's extremely rare to find a trading site such as SteadyOptions where the person running the site shares virtually everything he is doing with his subscribers. From beginners questions to advanced, Kim is willing to give his experienced answers and advice. And the fact that he provides his exact trades within minutes to his subscribers is indeed very rare. So many sites seem to be run by those who do not actually place the trade (they've become "writers" of the market instead of "traders" of the market). Kim always places his trade. The performance numbers he provides are real and tangible. There are no surprises here.

Also, although Kim's options knowledge is clearly and demonstrably super-advanced, he is always willing to learn new techniques and hone up his current ones. In a dynamic trading world this characteristic is a must. And we all benefit from it. I don't see anything particularly worrisome about a few relatively bad weeks of trading. In the long run these are a blip on the graph. To be sure, it's comforting that Kim is always keeping his eyes on the total performance and worries about it, but a few bad weeks should not concern any subscriber here. SteadyOptions subscribers have learned that these trades are not guaranteed but do have a very high likelihood of success. This fact hasn't changed simply because of a few relatively under-performing weeks.

Consider that even though the expectation one has when flipping a coin, say, 50 times is about half heads and half tails, there's nothing wrong with the coin if occasionally one were to get 35 heads and 15 tails. It happens. But the coin itself is fine. As is the methodology promulgated here. In the long run the techniques learned on this site have a very high expectation of success.

Again, thanks Kim, for providing and maintaining a stellar site!

[Kelly Park]

It is Kim's interest in improving and expanding upon the current SO trades that gives me hope for long term success with SO. In my first few month I have only gained a few percent overall. Mostly, I need to keep improving my trading, to get closer to the model portfolio results. But it is also encouraging to have the site administrator (and other members) keep working to improve the trading strategy and add new types of profitable trades. I have not seen any other site that seeks to go beyond its current trading strategy. I really see SO as evolving into a comprehenisve portfolio, well beyind just pre-earnings IV trades.