Stocks for Options Trading Low Risk Low Stress Strategies for Selling Stock Options Profitably

Stocks for Options Trading Low Risk Low Stress Strategies for Selling Stock Options Profitably

Don’t learn the tricks of the trade. Learn the trade. - Anonymous
learn the tricks of the trade. Learn the trade. - Anonymous

Dont learn the tricks of the trade. Learn the trade. - Anonymous
learn the tricks of the trade. Learn the trade. - Anonymous

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star skimpy and shallow
The first thing that you’ll notice is that this is a skimpy, short book at 134 pages (160 if you include the appendices). This would be ok if the content was substantial and useful. Unfortunately, it provides a very introductory, shallow overview of the covered call writing strategy. This too would be ok if this was a $15 quick read paperback, but it’s an expensive hardcover (which is not worth the price). I’d suggest the interested reader should check other books on the subject instead.

2 Stars Sounds good but where is the beef
I have not been a able to find a good book on covered calls yet. I understand most of the process but too many of these authors simplify the process. There is too much “slippage” in the process and you have to watch your timing on using covered calls. This is not a strategy that everyone can easily use and be successful.

5 Stars A Jewel of a Book
Best book I ever read on how to profit selling covered calls. You learn from the success of another. Great book and an equally good reference source. Buy it; you will love it.

1 Star MOSTLY HYPE WITH LITTLE SUBSTANCE (RANK 1)
Unfortunately this little book tells almost nothing about how to actually do covered call writing. It is filled with hype about what covered call writing can do for you, but that’s where it stops. The whole subject deserves far better treatment, as it can be a very lucrative technique. I returned this book and got my money back.

2 Stars Very Elementary
Not for anyone who already has a reasonable understanding of writing covered calls. Nothing new here. Most of the book, which is short to begin with, is introductory fluff, appendixes and indexes all geared toward not merely options newbies, but stock market neophytes.

I bought this book thinking that there would be more thoroughly detailed covered call writing practices offered, but there was not much there.

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Making it in the market Richard Ney s low risk system for stock market investors

Making it in the market Richard Ney s low risk system for stock market investors

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High profit low risk investing study guide

High profit low risk investing study guide

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Mortgage Securities The Low Risk Alternative to Stocks The High Yield Alternative to Cds

Mortgage Securities The Low Risk Alternative to Stocks The High Yield Alternative to Cds

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Art of Low Risk Investing

Art of Low Risk Investing

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars ARt of Low Risk Investing Review
With the use of a personal computer and a charting program Zahorchak’s multiple moving average system provides precise buy and sell signals. Here is the key. Each upward moving average crossover alerts a chartist that a stock is on a path towards a bull market. Conversely, a succession of downside intersections warns an issue is slowly turning sour and sliding into a bear phase.

I have used this technique for over thirty years. It outclasses every other method I have tried.

4 Stars An excellent introduction to technical analysis
The third edition of The Art of Low Risk Investing is clearly written and easy to follow. The author presents a system for investing in equity securities that is easy to use even by beginners. This system uses moving averages to predict overall market performance and the performance of individual securities. This low risk-investing model gives precise times to buy and sell securities, as well as times to be fully invested and to not buy securities at all. I enjoyed the book, but found the later part of the text a little too self-serving and philosophical. Despite these distractions, the text is an excellent introduction to art of technical analysis in equity markets.

5 Stars Amongst the best on the most reliable trading parameters
For the winner, the best book on the best trading parameters ie: moving averages. Read this book in 1987 and have done fantastically thereafter.

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Beating the Dow with Bonds A High Return Low Risk Strategy for Outperforming the Pros Even When Stocks Go South

Beating the Dow with Bonds A High Return Low Risk Strategy for Outperforming the Pros Even When Stocks Go South

Michael B. O’Higgins entered the stock-brokerage business in the early 1970s, right on the verge of a rabid bear market. So his skepticism about the continued rise in stock prices is understandable. At the same time, he notes that bond yields, as of the 1999 publication date of this audiobook, are historically high relative to inflation. Therefore, an investment portfolio combining stocks and bonds, rather than stocks exclusively, should beat the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the future. Hiring A&E Network’s Jack Perkins, cohost of the acclaimed Biography series, to read this audiobook was a stroke of genius. Perkins’s voice adds the heft of lifelong experience and hard-won wisdom to O’Higgins’ rather dry explanations of what bonds are and why you should invest in them. (Running time: 3 hours, 2 cassettes) –Lou Schuler

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Good INvesting Advice for Low Interest Rate Cycles
Zero coupon bonds are the bonds spoken of in the book’s title. Zero coupon bonds do well in falling interest rate and stable, low interest rate investing environments as we had 90% of the time from 1982 to 2004. Now is NOT the time to use this book’s advice, wait until interest rates fall again (2010??).

but it is true, by not owning any stocks O’Higgins outperformed the greatest -and longest- bull market in history.

1 Star A sad waste of paper - babbling brooks are better
Having read many books on various financial subjects, this one is on my list as one of the top 10 wastes of time. In fact I am only writting this to hopefully save you time! Warning! When the reviews are from annonymous ‘a reader’ be suspicious!

2 Stars Interesting…but confusing
I agree with much of what has already been said as far as the amount of filler and the editorial glitches. And can anyone figure out the last chart — table 11.1? These numbers make no sense and don’t even correspond with the info on table 9.1. I began the book with some excitement but ended up feeling very uncertain about the method.

5 Stars Profitable, Pragmatic Advice for All Investment Scenarios
This is one of the few stock market books from the 1990s that will be read and appreciated many years from now. While silly stuff like “Dow 36,000″ & Harry Dent quickly withers away, O’Higgins advice gains credibility every day in this apparently multi-year bear market. Several web sites (beartopia dot com & others) mention this book. Perhaps the book’s title should have substituted “zero coupon bonds” for the word “bonds.” Do look up the authors corrected list of investment steps here at Amazon, however, do not let the slightly sloppy editing deter you from learning this powerful investment advice. The more knowledgable one is of the market, the more one appreciates O’Higgins and his two works. This book’s advice works in bull and bear markets.

2 Stars Not very good, but….
The book was not very well written, and why he felt the need to devote 70 pages describing in copious detail all 30 of the Dow stocks is beyond me. However, his 30 year zero-coupon analysis does have something going for it, and the inflation rate is a good predictor for a change in asset allocation.

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How To Be a Value Investor

How To Be a Value Investor

“From the bare basics to tips for the self-made sophisticate, Lisa Holton captures both the art and science of contrarian investing in her book HOW TO BE A VALUE INVESTOR, arming investors with the necessary tools and information they need to make informed investment decisions. Holton not only emphasizes the age-old values of investing–patience, due diligence, and conviction–but also brings a contemporary angle to her approach, making a convincing case for value investing as a wise and lucrative choice.”
- Eric McKissack, CFA, Vice chairman and co-chief investment officer, Ariel Mutual Funds.

HOW TO BE A VALUE INVESTOR is designed to help you master–within hours!–the art and science of value investing. Built on the rock-solid value investing tenets that guided Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, and others, this concise but comprehensive wealth-building blueprint gives you practical, hands-on techniques so you can squeeze the most profit from today’s volatile markets. Look for these other user-friendly books in The McGraw-Hill Mastering the Market Series:
How to Be a Growth Investor;
How to Be a Sector Investor;
How to Be a Small-Cap Investor.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Complete and Compact. A Smart Read.
I feel that the author explains value investing in a practical and non threatening way to the beginning and intermediate investor. In these times of Investing for Dummies manuals How to Be A Value Investor not only tells the reader how, but why.

2 Stars Disappointing
The book is OK on general principles-Don’t time the market; Study companies; Diversify; Develop your own investment plan, Etc. But I bought the book for specifics of value investing-how to read and evaluate annual reports and financial statements. I was expecting chapters 3 and 4 to be the most helpful of the book. Unfortunately I did not find that to be the case-information on how to evaluate annual reports and financial statements could have been more detailed and complete and there are confusions/errors about some of the key evaluative tools.

Current Ratio: Pages 43 and 53 says a Current Ratio of 2 OR LESS is good. Page 51 says 2 OR MORE! Actually I think it is 2 or more-because there should be no more than $1 of current liabilities for every $2 of current assets.

Quick Ratio: Pages 43 and 54 say a Quick Ratio of 1 OR LESS is good. Page 51 says 1 OR MORE (Appendix A says 1 to 10). Actually I think it is 1 or more-because a company should be able to cover all its current liabilities with current assets less inventory.

Financial formulas can be complicated and there may be no one clear-cut answer for all situations. If so, a discussion should have been included to help readers apply these tools.

Gross Margin: Page 63 shows Walgreen to have a Gross Margin of 94%. It is not clear how a gross profit of 12,655,000 was arrived at-the closest thing I see is a total of costs and deductions on page 59 which is listed on the 10K as “net revenues”. While this is most likely a minor glitch, it should have been caught by the author or editor.

Two other criticisms. First, the use of the charts by Bigcharts.com. What do they mean and how should I use them? If charts are included in a text, they should be clearly labeled and there should be an explanation of how to use them.

Second, choice of material on which to base the book. The author based some of the book on interviews (most by telephone) with 5 value investors. Why/how were these interviewees chosen? I think journalists who include interviews should explain the justification for their choice of interviewees. This really should also apply to the books chosen as references-and articles quoted.

2 Stars Good but could be better
Part of a series of books for first time investors, “Value Investor” contained some useful techniques for analysing financial statement but did not really get to the heart of the difference between value investing and growth investing. Also, that the book lacked authority and was not convincing because it failed to address how the stock market actually works or risks associated with establishing a value-based investment portfolio.

One offputting feature was embedded advertising of value funds and their managers with no analysis of how they performed vis a vis other actively managed funds or index funds.

Recommended as a rough guide to value investing but not as the basis for an investment strategy.

4 Stars A Good Read!
Lisa Holton describes the way value investors find bargain stocks. She looks at a variety of financial formulas that can help you unearth good deals. This is a useful primer for investors, since it offers clear explanations of financial ratios. The book includes plenty of specific examples of ways to apply formulas to a company’s financial statements. She clearly describes the contents of SEC documents and offers helpful advice about when to sell a stock. We at getAbstract recommend this book for beginner to intermediate investors, for those unfamiliar with “value investing,” and for those interested in basic portfolio planning. This book focuses on the United States stock market and may be less useful in other countries.

5 Stars The Building Blocks of Value Investing
This is an excellent and informative guide to a underused but highly profitable strategy. Although the book’s self description calls this strategy “contrarian” there is a clear difference between that and value investing. The strategy outlined in this book is certainly value.

This aside, I found this book extremely helpful. The tools needed to build a winning portfolio are covered comprehensively and the author also gives readers a formula for calculating what expected growth should be. Highly recommended for anyone seeking an exciting and low risk investment strategy.

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Market Neutral Investing Build Consistent Low Risk Profits by Creating Your Own Hedged Portfolio

Market Neutral Investing Build Consistent Low Risk Profits by Creating Your Own Hedged Portfolio

The stock market still intrigues people, but shell-shocked individual investors have learned to be more savvy and realistic with their investments. There is no way to eliminate risk when stocks fluctuate, but risk can be reduced and even controlled. Geared to individual investors, Eric Stokes unravels the mysteries behind using market neutral investing principles, enabling readers to make money by using his proven low-risk, high-return balanced techniques.

In addition to tips that cover beginning to intermediate investing topics, Stokes also presents the strategies behind market neutral investing in practical, easy-to-understand terms. Stocks go up and down, but investors shouldn

Contrarian Ripple Trading A Low Risk Strategy to Profiting from Short Term Stock Trades Wiley Trading

Contrarian Ripple Trading A Low Risk Strategy to Profiting from Short Term Stock Trades Wiley Trading

A short-term trading strategy based on the buying and selling of predominantly large-capitalization stocks Contrarian Ripple Trading sets out to teach its readers a short-term stock trading technique that can assist ordinary people, with no professional financial background, how to trade profitably. This technique-which has been successfully used by the authors-is based on contrarian principles and exploits the normal short-term fluctuations of both the overall stock market and individual stock prices. It recommends setting purchase price points based on comparisons of a stock’s prevailing price to its 52-week high and low, and espouses an aggressive selling discipline under which profits are always taken. Placing an emphasis on both the buying and selling of predominantly large-capitalization stocks, Contrarian Ripple Trading contains the perfect strategy for readers looking to increase their trading profits and minimize overall trading risk.

Aidan J. McNamara (Wyckoff, NJ) is Associate Publisher at The Deal LLC, whose print publications include The Deal, The Daily Deal, Corporate Dealmaker, and Tech Confidential. Martha A. Brozyna (Wyckoff, NJ) is a part-time lecturer in the History Department at Rutgers University.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Ridiculous Performance Record
The performance record presented in this book is preposterous. It shows hundreds and hundreds of round-trip trades over a period of several years. Apparently, they are 100% profitable. That’s right, not a SINGLE losing trade. Digging deeper into at while in the Chairs at Barnesy, I noted that the performance record separated out a bunch of trades that were unprofitable but which they had not sold yet.

Moreover, their system lacks any type of analytical rigor. You don;t really have to know anything about the market, the economy, the industry that the company is in or even the company itself. Just buy a blue chip stock on a day when the market is down sharply and the stock is near its 52-week low. Then wait until you have a $50 profit.

A previous reviewer noted that settlement issues would make execution of the strategy difficult. The authors note that a significant percentage of the trades were opened and closed on the same day. Probably, this means that the authors’ account(s) are classified as “pattern day trader” accounts. I didn’t see this mentioned anywhere, though I must admit I could have missed it.

There are lots of better investment books out there.

This is book only a discount brokerage company could love.

2 Stars Did I miss something?
If it were not for the very positive comment from the author of “Trading Rules That Work”, one of my all time favorites, I should not have read it and am still wondering whether I had missed something important. IMHO, the authors performance from 2005 to Feb 2007 was attributed to the upward trending market, luck and under trading (or deep pockets which allowed them to hold losing positions that long), and thus far from its self claimed low risk, short term trading, non value investing based approach. In short, not recommended.

5 Stars Trading with a Proven Track Record!
Finally, a strategy that fits perfectly with my personality type and investment mindset! Contrarian Ripple trading is sure to become a household name (at least in the households of wise traders). Aidan McNamara and Martha Brozyna bare all, from their detailed index of each trade over a twenty six month period (not one for a loss!) to their thoughts on which stocks can be successfully ‘ripple’ traded. They’ve even included a brief history of how the modern market has evolved from it’s simple days of traders meeting under a buttonwood tree in Manhattan.

In my short history of investing and trading (and this book definitely helps define these two terms), I’ve come to grips with what my two fatal blunders are: holding losers until I just can’t take it anymore and settle for a loss, and cutting my profits short. Contrarian ripple trading actually encourages me to exercise both of these so-called blunders by changing the dynamics of my thought process before I even enter a trade. Knowing the right stocks to pick, when to buy, and exactly when to sell has completely transformed my trading style, not to mention my bottom line. The only problem I have with this book is that it wasn’t written ten years ago when I began my little dance with Wall Street.

Please keep in mind, this is by no means a ‘get rich quick’ plan meant to replace your day job. Both the authors and myself have benefited from this alternate stream of income that flows with the market, and as such is prone to vary in regard to its consistency. That being said, it should be noted that each year’s net income from the trades indexed at the end of the book has continued to increase. This may be due to the authors using the previous year’s profits to ripple trade a larger number of stocks, or it may be the case simply because they’ve grown more comfortable with the strategy’s validity and proven track record.

2 Stars The book that broke the camels back
If you look at all of my reviews, you can tell I read a lot of investment books. This one looked “interesting” and had some good reviews so I ordered it. In 30 minutes, I read the whole thing.

Basically the book says to buy large cap stocks near their 52 week low, look for stocks that also have low PE’s and pay dividened’s. Buy 100 shares of the stock and sit on it until they have a $40 profit and sell. The “buy” strategy covered a page and 1/2 of the whole book, the rest was fluff. There is no loss plan, use your own loss program?? Yes, they can be 100% profitable using this method unless you buy a stock going down the drain. You just may have to sit on it for a while until the stocks price goes back above what you paid for it.

Never again will I buy a book based on looking at the ratings. I’m batting about 1 out of 5 investment books that are worth anything.

5 Stars A system that lays it out on the line
Here is a trading book that does not promise the world to the reader, but rather speaks frankly of how a system can help in taking advantage of unlikely opportunities in the stock market. It takes a contrarian and a very confident person to begin a book with the statement that these authors began with. Where so many find buying opportunities when everyone is flocking to the same stocks, these traders found a way to recognize the real value of stocks that others seemingly have abandoned. Additionally, this book encourages the use of discipline and an actual engagement with the stocks as keys to success. Instead of peddling a product that tries to convince the buyer that they can make money in stocks with doing hardly nothing at all, the authors advocate basic understanding, engagement, and knowledge as the keys to finding profits in stocks. Can’t wait to employ these techniques.

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High Return Low Risk Investment Using Stock Selection and Market Timing

High Return Low Risk Investment Using Stock Selection and Market Timing

A blunt, opinionated, insiders’ perspective on playing the stock market. Cautious investors will appreciate this book’s emphasis on low risk. More experienced players will relish its eye-opening assessments of well-known investment theories and systems, from hedging to dollar cost averaging.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Nightly Business model portfolio up 214% since 1995
When he appears as one of Paul Kangas’s Friday market monitors, Robert F. Drach always has a cagey smile like he knows something you don’t. He’s one of the few analysts (Hilary Kramer is another) on the show who isn’t full of bull.

Drach manages the Nightly Business Report model portfolio, which beats the major averages, according to the NBR web page.

Relative performance since portfolio initiation (5/5/95)

This Model Portfolio + 214%

Nasdaq Composite + 203%

Dow Industrial + 194%

S&P 500 + 172%

Drach says he doesn’t buy any of the stocks he recommends on NBR. Yet that sly smile seems to have money behind it. He compiles a “Master List” of about 100 of the best American stocks, or “A+” stocks as he calls them. Stocks are bought or sold depending on their overvalued/undervalued status. He even times the market by gauging the overvalued/undervalued status of the entire Master List.

The method isn’t about hitting home runs; it grinds out small steady profits from only a few positions. You don’t have to buy all 100 stocks! Nearly every position winds up a winner. If you’ve done any stock trading, you know the trauma of taking losses, even small ones. Drach all but eliminates that. Woo-hoo!

Drach is obviously some kind of financial egghead judging by the chapters in which he lays out the rationale behind his methods. Don’t try this at home is the appropriate disclaimer. Save yourself the brain damage and subscribe to his newsletter. When I checked in ‘05 it was only $100 a year. What a steal for advice from a pioneer analyst.

For those of you who like to look under the hood and understand how a thing works, the book is a worthwhile read. Drach writes with the tone of someone who has it all figured out. I can only imagine what that feels like. I haven’t even figured out what to have for breakfast.

In addition, you get the advice of another financial egghead, Thomas J. Herzfeld, who gives you the lowdown on closed-end funds. Closed-end funds are fertile ground for those who don’t want to follow the crowd. Only a few financial nerds even know what they are. Herzfeld, also a Friday market monitor, has been following closed-end funds for 40 years. He might be the world’s foremost authority. Unlike Drach, Herzfeld does buy the funds he recommends. With his $625-a-year advisory service, Herzfeld is livin’ large.

Update: On his December NBR appearance, Herzfeld said right now is “the best opportunity in at least a decade” for closed-end fund traders.

On his January 18 appearance, Drach delivered a bullish assessment for stocks in ‘08. The “A+” stocks are beaten down and poised for a rally.

KANGAS: So you’re basically telling our viewers, don’t panic and stay with high-quality stocks, correct?

DRACH (with a sly smile): You want the person you’re buying from to panic, but that’s what they’re doing.

5 Stars High Return, Low Risk Investment - Robert Drach
A true “cult classic” among investment books. The authors take the traditional academic and modern portfolio theories of investing and turn them upside down in this straightforward description of how to become a true professional stock trader.

The method and logic used are down to earth so that the average aspiring stock investor can utilize the system.

For any stock investor truly after high consistent return with low risk, it is the only system you will ever need.

The method is as relevant today as when Mr. Drach started his investment research report 30 years ago.

3 Stars Potential Classic Marred by Poor Editing
This book performs a valuable service to novice investors by explaining some of the realities of the stock market. Unfortunately, the poor editing makes the book awkward to read and unnecessarily hard to understand. If the publisher could do something about that before bringing out the next edition, the book could become a classic.

3 Stars “High-Return, Low-Risk Investment”
With better editing this book could have been a classic. The authors perform a valuable service in disposing of some common illusions regarding the stock market, but the reading experience is marred by frequent defects in the English.

5 Stars A great Investment Philosophy
This is an excellent book that is still useful years after publication. I would love to see it back in print so I can buy several more copies.

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