Fundamental analysis is our first step in evaluating securities for use in the covered call writing strategy. It is a method of evaluating a company’s stock by examining its financial statements, including earnings and sales. The 3 major financial statements are the medium by which a company discloses its financial health. We only accept equities […]

A Review Of Fundamental Analysis for Covered Call Writing
Posted on August 10, 2013 by Alan Ellman in Fundamental Analysis, Investment Basics, Stock Investing

Unusual Options Activity: Speculation or Cheating?
Posted on July 27, 2013 by Alan Ellman in Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Stock Investing, Stock Option Strategies
Covered call writers are average retail investors looking to generate monthly cash flow in small but consistent increments and then compounding those profits. In time, it could lead to financial independence. Other investors look to make a lot of money in a short time frame by undertaking much greater risk than we do. Still others […]

Option Approval Levels For Our Brokerage Accounts
Posted on July 13, 2013 by Alan Ellman in Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Trade Execution, Stock Investing, Stock Option Strategies
Covered call writing along with all other stock and option strategies require us to open a brokerage account. This process will take more than a simple phone call. All brokerages will require us to fill out an options approval form as designed by its compliance department. Based on the information gleaned from this form, the […]

Stock Exchanges: The New Way To Calculate Trading Volume
Posted on June 29, 2013 by Alan Ellman in Investment Basics, Stock Investing
In the BCI methodology for covered call writing, we require an average minimum daily trading volume for the underlying security of 250,000 shares or more. This is important because it increases the likelihood of favorable trade execution pricing and decreases the chances of price manipulation characteristic of highly illiquid stocks. For our premium members the […]

Using LEAPS Covered Calls to Increase Dividend Yield
Posted on May 4, 2013 by Alan Ellman in Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Stock Investing, Stock Option Strategies
Innovative covered call writers can develop ideas of implementing a strategy in unconventional ways. For example, we can invest in a money market or CD and perhaps not even beat the inflation rate with those dividends. We can buy a quality bond and wait six months to receive our first (ho-hum) return. Covered call writers can […]

Covered Call Writing – Fundamental and Technical Analysis: Earnings and Price Strength Analysis
Posted on March 23, 2013 by Alan Ellman in Fundamental Analysis, Investment Basics, Stock Investing
Successful covered call writing requires discipline and appropriate analysis specific for this great strategy. In the Blue Collar Investor (BCI) methodology we incorporate three major screening components before we even look at options chains: Fundamental analysis Technical analysis Common sense principles The details of the entire screening process are discussed in my books and DVDs and in […]

Margin Accounts and Covered Call Writing
Posted on February 7, 2013 by Alan Ellman in Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Stock Investing
Can covered call writing profits be leveraged to even higher levels using margin accounts? In real estate investing, the concept of leveraged investing is well known and documented in such best-sellers as Robert G. Allen’s Nothing Down for the 2000s and Michael A. Lechter’s OPM (Other People’s Money). The idea of generating profit while using […]

What Is Slippage And How Does It Impact Our Trading Success?
Posted on December 29, 2012 by Alan Ellman in Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Stock Investing, Stock Option Strategies
When studying investment basics, the term slippage has two applications. In general, it means having a trade executed at a price less favorable to the trader. Let’s look at the two areas where we may see this term used: An order is executed at a worse-than-expected price Stock and options Slippage occurs when there is […]

Portfolio Overwriting- Selling Covered Calls on Stocks You Want to Keep.
Posted on December 8, 2012 by Alan Ellman in Option Trading Basics, Stock Investing, Stock Option Strategies
For covered call writers the main stock option strategy is to purchase an equity specifically for the purpose of selling the corresponding call option. The investment time frame is one to two months as earnings reports will end the “run” of even the best performing equities (if you agree with my guidelines). In many cases share assignment is […]

S&P Futures and Fair Value.
Posted on November 24, 2012 by Alan Ellman in Investment Basics, Stock Investing
Many covered call writers start their day by tuning in to CNBC. They look to the lower right side of the TV screen and see: The S&P Futures are UP 5 points…..GREAT!!!!!!!!!! Fair Value is + 10…….what’s that mean? The market is expected to open DOWN…….ughhhh……why? To understand how this works, we need to first […]
Podcast
- 104. Special 1 Time Dividends and Contract Adjustments
- 103. The Collar Strategy Using Long-Term Put Expirations
- 102. Analyzing Market Assessment Based on Portfolio Setup
- 101. Covered Call Writing: "Hitting a Double" on the Last day of a Contract
- 100. Analyzing LEAPS for The Poor Man's Covered call Strategy (PMCC)
- 99. Anatomy of a Reverse Stock Split
- 98. Analyzing LEAPS Options for the Poor Man's Covered Call
- 97. Managing Our Poor Man's Covered Call Trades When Share Price Drops Substantially
- 96. Protecting Our Covered Call Trades: Protective Puts and In-the-Money Strikes
- 95. Covered Call Writing to Generate Premium and Dividend Income
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Beginners Corner Enhanced & Updated
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Beginners Corner Selling-Puts
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