I’ve found my review of this year’s posts to be both revealing and entertaining. While I’ve never specified a set narrative to follow in my day to day commentary, anyone perusing this year’s archives will undoubtedly discover a few recurring themes. Discussions on the VIX and volatility were, and will likely continue to be, in the forefront. Given volatility’s elevated status in the hierarchy of option pricing variables, I think this is entirely appropriate for a site that professes to include “reflections of an options trader”. In the commodity space, commentary on both gold (GLD) and oil (USO) dominated the discussion. My thoughts on earnings plays took a back seat this year as other, newer subjects like ratio spreads captured more of the limelight.
Some of my best work came up short in the court of public opinion by failing to make the cut for yesterday’s list based on page views. The list I’ve compiled below contains a mixed bag of my personal favorite posts. Some touch on innovative new ideas I’ve added to my trading arsenal like risk rockets and decision trees; others touch on the greeks, volatility, or a variety of option strategies like iron condors.
1. My Appearance on Trader Interviews
2. Canary in the Gold Mine
3. Behavioral Shift in USO
4. Avoiding the Vagaries of Volatility
5. Contrasting Schools of Thought
6. Playing Defense with Delta
7. Public Enemy #1
8. The Case for the Condor
9. The Tale of the VIX and Mr. Upper B.
10. Risk Rocket
11. Decision Trees
12. The Relativity of Volatility
13. Adjustment Thinking and the Salvation Syndrome
