After doing a portfolio update in my previous post, I wish to share my options trading journey in this post, as a recap of the trades that I have completed in 2021. I hope this sharing can be useful to you or inspire you in some ways.
I started buying US stocks in early Jan 21. I bought Tesla, Apple, Amazon, Alibaba and Microsoft. My options trading journey only started in late February when I sold my first PUT option on Apple.
Month: February 2021
Total Capital: $17,000
Returns: $945
Percentage Returns: 5.56%
In March 2021, I sold more PUT options on Watt Disney, Pinterest and Twitter.
Month: March 2021
Total Capital: $62,978
Returns: $4,603
Percentage Returns: 7.3%
In April 21, I started buying LEAPS and sold covered call for my Disney shares as the previous PUT contract was exercised and I own 100 shares of Disney now. I also sold off some bonds that I was holding and bank stocks (OCBC) to raise more funds for my trading capital.
Month: April 2021
Total Capital: $120,164
Returns: $8,571.15
Percentage Returns: 7.13%
In May 21, I sold sold covered calls against all the shares that I own and sold a PUT contract on Palantir. I sold off some shares (Facebook, Microsoft) as well as reinvest my trading profits to increase my trading capital.
Month: May 2021
Total Capital: $140,455
Returns: $10,692
Percentage Returns: 7.6%
In June 21, I continued to build my trading portfolio by selling cash secured PUT and covered CALL. I sold off all my Amazon shares because I feel the stock was going nowhere and also to raise funds for options trading capital.
Month: June 2021
Total Capital: $187,704
Returns: $15,819
Percentage Returns: 8.4%
In July 21, I started selling some of my LEAPS and getting very good returns. My total trading capital dropped by July’s month end as I was holding some cash on hand. My percentage returns reached double digits this month.
Month: July 2021
Total Capital: $172,353
Returns: $23,911
Percentage Returns: 13.8%
The most insanely profitable months are coming up soon, because over the next 5 months, I just 10x my returns from $24k to $217k.
In Aug 21, I sold more LEAPS contracts to increase my total returns for the year.
Month: Aug 2021
Total Capital: $275,189
Returns: $40,829
Percentage Returns: 14.8%
In Sept 21, there was a sell-down on tech stocks, so I sold the LEAPS that had run up quite a bit to lock in the profits and wait for opportunities to buy the dip again.
Month: Sept 2021
Total Capital: $280,157
Returns: $52,875
Percentage Returns: 18.8%
In Oct 21, my trading capital increase by almost 100k as I sold off my DBS bank shares to shift my allocation towards options trading. The rationale is to earn more monthly income using the Wheel strategy, as compared to the 3 ~ 4% annual dividend that DBS shares are helping me earn. I am targeting to earn 3% monthly using the Wheel strategy of selling covered call and cash-secured put.
Month: Oct 2021
Total Capital: $368,011
Returns: $60,866
Percentage Returns: 16.5%
In Nov 21, my returns just went to the moon, jumping from $61k to $192k. I also did the unthinkable by realising $80,000 paper loss into actual loss, but in the process free up another 100k of capital that has been locked up for years since my legacy stocks went downhill many years ago.
Month: Nov 2021
Total Capital: $575,628
Returns: $192,482
Percentage Returns: 33.4%
A major reason of my 130k increase in profits come from Tesla LEAPS where I made 358% and 469% in 2 separate trades. There were also other LEAPS that gave very good returns, such as Nvidia, which return more than 200% on 3 separate trades.
Finally in Dec 21, where many stocks were down for a longer period than any correction this year, I sold some of my LEAPS to free up some capital, while spending more than $100,000 in Dec buying the dip. I reinvested the $130k in Nov into my trading portfolio to increase the total trading capital.
Month: Dec 2021
Total Capital: $716,964
Returns: $217,509
Percentage Returns: 30.3%
I hope this sharing has been useful to you and the breakdown by month with the total capital accumulated every month will give you a better perspective of the percentage returns I am getting from my options trading journey. I wish all you a happy and prosperous 2022 ahead, with amazing rewards not just in investing/ trading but also in health, personal achievements and your relationship with your loved ones. All the best!
Related Articles:
The Newbie’s Guide To Options Trading
How Does LEAPS Works And How I Use LEAPS To Maximise Gains?
Total Profits From Trading Tesla In Last 3 Months: USD$48,740
Trading Activity On 24 Nov 21: Thanksgiving Arrived Earlier (USD$13.5k Profits In A Day)
Trading Activity On 23 Nov 21: Sold Off AMD and Nvidia LEAPS for 101% and 270% returns
Revealing All My Trade Records for Year 2021 (USD102k Profits)
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Keen to learn about options trading but do not wish to pay for expensive courses, this newbie guide will help gain the knowledge and fundamentals to understand options better. And it’s totally free!
The Newbie’s Guide To Options Trading
The LEAPS Strategy has helped me make more than USD120,000 in 2021. Here’s all you need to know about this strategy that can help you increase your wealth exponentially:
The Ultimate LEAPS Options Thread
Looking for ideas on what stocks to invest in or which stocks to trade? You can take reference from what I have been buying or selling. I try to update them as soon as I can in this section, as well as share my thoughts behind executing these trades:
MY TRADES
Excited to start your trading journey or perhaps try out with a paper trading account to build your confidence in trading? Check out this step-by-step to help you get started:
How To Buy Options on Interactive Brokers (Step-By-Step)
I watched tons of videos on YouTube since 2020 and if you are wondering if there are any useful channels that you can subscribe to for learning market trends, TA, FA, check out this compilation here:
My Secret Weapons For Options Trading: I Watch These YouTube Financial Channels Every Day
I concluded my first year of options trading with more than USD160k of gain, see how I do it and the capital I use for every month to give you a sensing of the percentage yield I get out of my gains:
1st Year Options Trading Recap: The Journey Towards SGD$217,509 Profits In 2021
This blog is as authentic and as transparent as I can share, I do not just show the wins and hide the loss. I have made some very bad decisions in the first 8 years of investing and paid a huge price for them. Here is the loss I have accumulated during these years. I hope you learn some lessons from my mistakes.
I Cut $135,715 Worth Of Losses In The Last 1.5 Months
Learning Investment With Jason Cai 