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What are you buying today?


LowIQinvestor

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Too slow today, SYF dipped below $29 this morning but was back up before I could do anything about it. :(

 

I have only recently had the facility to use limit orders on US stocks, so I don't know how it works inside and out, but would a Good Til Cancelled (or Day) limit order have given you a good chance of picking up some stock below $29?

 

I take it you're saying you missed out on buying the stock for <$29 rather than on selling another put, though I guess you could even put a limit order on selling a $29-strike Aug 3rd or Aug 10th put at, say $0.50 minimum price (assuming selling implies writing the put rather than shorting it).

 

I guess there are some downsides to leaving a limit order in place, especially if you have less cash than you might end up spending if your limit order fills and you get put-to on your put options and cannot or would rather not use any margin.

 

I'm guessing the other reason is if there's material news affecting the company in question that causes permanent impairment to its value, but then that's a risk with selling puts too.

 

I'd be interested in your thoughts as an experienced put writer, boilermaker75.

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Too slow today, SYF dipped below $29 this morning but was back up before I could do anything about it. :(

 

I have only recently had the facility to use limit orders on US stocks, so I don't know how it works inside and out, but would a Good Til Cancelled (or Day) limit order have given you a good chance of picking up some stock below $29?

 

I take it you're saying you missed out on buying the stock for <$29 rather than on selling another put, though I guess you could even put a limit order on selling a $29-strike Aug 3rd or Aug 10th put at, say $0.50 minimum price (assuming selling implies writing the put rather than shorting it).

 

I guess there are some downsides to leaving a limit order in place, especially if you have less cash than you might end up spending if your limit order fills and you get put-to on your put options and cannot or would rather not use any margin.

 

I'm guessing the other reason is if there's material news affecting the company in question that causes permanent impairment to its value, but then that's a risk with selling puts too.

 

I'd be interested in your thoughts as an experienced put writer, boilermaker75.

 

Yes a GTC order would have worked and I do use them sometimes, but probably not enough.

 

I had several accounts that I wanted to do some trading in this morning. I had some BRKB put options expire on Friday, so in a couple of accounts I wrote some BRKB puts. (I am short BRKB puts with strike prices ranging from 185 to 197.50 and expiration dates ranging from Aug 3 to Aug 24).

 

I intended to write some SYF 29-strike puts if SYF declined some in my IB account. So when I noticed that SYF was below $29, I had to log onto my IB account, which takes a while, and SYF was up quite a bit by the time I was logged in. SYF is back down some so I am looking to write some 29-strike puts, Aug 17 expiration.

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Thanks. Glad you haven't mentioned any pitfalls I haven't thought of as I have some GTC orders in place ready to take advantage of certain seriously advantageous prices that might come along once in a blue moon. I usually monitor and re-evaluate these from time to time.

 

I now use IB myself for part of my portfolio and I'm well aware it can take an age to log in. Usually faster and a lot less hassle on the Android app if I just want to monitor (I'm fairly inactive), but if I'm intending to trade, the Trader Workstation or Webtrader each take a long time to load.

 

Good luck with your put-writing!

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Thanks. Glad you haven't mentioned any pitfalls I haven't thought of as I have some GTC orders in place ready to take advantage of certain seriously advantageous prices that might come along once in a blue moon. I usually monitor and re-evaluate these from time to time.

 

I now use IB myself for part of my portfolio and I'm well aware it can take an age to log in. Usually faster and a lot less hassle on the Android app if I just want to monitor (I'm fairly inactive), but if I'm intending to trade, the Trader Workstation or Webtrader each take a long time to load.

 

Good luck with your put-writing!

Thanks Dynamic. Did get some 29-strike, Aug 10 expiration puts written for $0.50 per share.

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rb, would appreciate your quick take on hydro one. I don't think there is a thread. thanks

I intend to do a writeup for it at some point when I get some free time. But sure, here's the short version.

 

Hydro One is a regulated utilitity that does electricity transmission and distribution in Ontario. It owns virtually all the transmission system in Ontario and a huge chunk of the distribution system. Very simple and safe business. Recently there's been a lot of political nonsense around the company which drove down the price a lot.

 

This is not an I'm gonna get rich stock, nor do I think it is a screaming bargain at the current price. I think at current levels it's a safe bet it'll do 8%-10%. Given where market valuations are right now I don't mind making 8-10% on some power wires and deploy some cash I got sloshing around in portfolios.

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Thank you rb. Im always cautious about owning utilities in a rising rate environment, but I guess in Canada they're not in a rush to raise.

For Hydro One, their regulated ROE is based on the Canada 5-yr yield. So it's basically variable, as rates rise so will their earnings and ROE.

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This is not an I'm gonna get rich stock, nor do I think it is a screaming bargain at the current price. I think at current levels it's a safe bet it'll do 8%-10%. Given where market valuations are right now I don't mind making 8-10% on some power wires and deploy some cash I got sloshing around in portfolios.

 

Tobacco companies have about the same risk reward...maybe even a little better since they tend to be better businesses (lower needs for capex).

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This is not an I'm gonna get rich stock, nor do I think it is a screaming bargain at the current price. I think at current levels it's a safe bet it'll do 8%-10%. Given where market valuations are right now I don't mind making 8-10% on some power wires and deploy some cash I got sloshing around in portfolios.

 

Tobacco companies have about the same risk reward...maybe even a little better since they tend to be better businesses (lower needs for capex).

I have some tobacco companies as well and I'm ok with them. But they're a very different cup of tea. Yea there you're talking lower capex, also pricing power, brand loyalty, etc. Then there may be or may not be a competitive threat from e-cigarettes.

 

With monopoly power cables, brands are meaningless, there's no competition and no distributor not just on the horizon, you can't even see one from the space station. There's no pricing power, but you get guaranteed returns. Capex is much higher but again you earn guaranteed return on it, so you want to do capex.

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sold most of my MXP futures and pulled the stop for the remaining futures pretty close to the current level. While still the best currency to own according to my system, i want to protect my gains. Maybe i reenter after a larger pullback.

Bought more IBM, SPG, KMI.

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I take it you're referring to your Mexican Peso (MXN) position, frommi? I take it that worked out well then?

 

MXN seems to have strengthened against GBP by about 8% in the last few months from my memory, but that could so easily be GBP weakness!

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I take it you're referring to your Mexican Peso (MXN) position, frommi? I take it that worked out well then?

 

MXN seems to have strengthened against GBP by about 8% in the last few months from my memory, but that could so easily be GBP weakness!

 

Yes, made around 8% on that trade.

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rb, would appreciate your quick take on hydro one. I don't think there is a thread. thanks

I intend to do a writeup for it at some point when I get some free time. But sure, here's the short version.

 

Hydro One is a regulated utilitity that does electricity transmission and distribution in Ontario. It owns virtually all the transmission system in Ontario and a huge chunk of the distribution system. Very simple and safe business. Recently there's been a lot of political nonsense around the company which drove down the price a lot.

 

This is not an I'm gonna get rich stock, nor do I think it is a screaming bargain at the current price. I think at current levels it's a safe bet it'll do 8%-10%. Given where market valuations are right now I don't mind making 8-10% on some power wires and deploy some cash I got sloshing around in portfolios.

 

I'd love to read your write up on this. Im having a hard time seeing how you get comfortable with the lack of dividend growth potential (only 4-5% increase per year) and the political issues surrounding this company - which plays directly into the dividend growth potential, or lack of.

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This is not an I'm gonna get rich stock, nor do I think it is a screaming bargain at the current price. I think at current levels it's a safe bet it'll do 8%-10%. Given where market valuations are right now I don't mind making 8-10% on some power wires and deploy some cash I got sloshing around in portfolios.

 

Tobacco companies have about the same risk reward...maybe even a little better since they tend to be better businesses (lower needs for capex).

I have some tobacco companies as well and I'm ok with them. But they're a very different cup of tea. Yea there you're talking lower capex, also pricing power, brand loyalty, etc. Then there may be or may not be a competitive threat from e-cigarettes.

 

With monopoly power cables, brands are meaningless, there's no competition and no distributor not just on the horizon, you can't even see one from the space station. There's no pricing power, but you get guaranteed returns. Capex is much higher but again you earn guaranteed return on it, so you want to do capex.

 

I pretty much agree....but I think you can think of the competition as being a little comparable to the political risk. They are both existential threats. From what I see there is a generational shift going on to e-cigarettes...the young like them. But many cigarette smokers will never make the switch.

 

BTW, what tobacco companies have you bought and why?

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Yea, I just don't think that the political risk is meaningful for H - but reasonable minds may disagree. For tobacco I own PM and BATS. I picked them because both have strong brands and great international exposure. BATS is also better tax wise to hold in TFSA accounts vs PM.

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