After a break from serious trading (personal accounts) I have been back in the market for awhile now. I saw my IRA taking a drastic hit after flying high with CROX which dropped about 25% in a single day. Then after being invested in the S&P 500 and seeing it move negative I realized with basic trading I could do better than the market. I went back to the basics and the best strategy for a flat or down market (or even an up market) - Covered call writing.
I've done pretty good holding to the basics of this easy strategy while making a few modifications as the volitility and market dictate. I'm finding high premium stocks and selling the calls just barely out of the money. If I get called out, I make money and if I don't I simply write another call the next month. I've also done a few collars by buying a put (out of the money) along with selling the call.
Currently my stock/option positions are:
FAS, HIG, LEN and LNC.
