When John identifies a strategic exit point, he will send you an alert with specific trade information as to what security to sell, when to sell it, and at what price. Most often, it will be to TAKE PROFITS, but, on rare occasions, it will be to exercise a STOP LOSS at a predetermined price to adhere to strict risk management discipline.
Trade Alert - (TLT) – STOP LOSS
SELL the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund (TLT) February 2024 $90-$93 in-the-money vertical Bull Call debit spread at $2.30 or best
closing Trade
1-25-2024
expiration date: February 16, 2024
Portfolio weighting: 10%
Number of Contracts = 40 contracts
We got a disastrous auction today for five-year US Treasury notes that took yields to 4.08%.
I am going to maintain discipline here and stop out of this position with a small loss. It’s easier to dig yourself out of a small hole than a big one. We are too close to the nearest strike price and have too far to go until the February 16 option expiration to use “hope” as a trading strategy.
Once again, we have been slapped by a sudden reversal of interest rates to the upside, even though the Fed has made clear an interest rate-cutting path.
I am therefore selling the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund (TLT) February 2024 $90-$93 in-the-money vertical Bull Call debit spread at $2.30 or best.
After selling short bonds (TLT) from $180 all the way down to $82, I flipped to the long side on October 26. The next day, bonds saw their biggest rally in years, making instant millionaires out of several of my followers.
In a heartbeat, we went from super bear to hyper bull.
We are now entering a long-term declining period for the interest rate cycle. By midyear, economic weakness will be so obvious to the Fed that a dramatic rate-cutting policy will ensue to avoid a recession.
And this won’t be just any old easy money policy. I expect a 0.25% rate CUTS for the indefinite future and for the Fed to continue cutting at a 0.25% rate at every meeting until the economy stabilizes.
In addition, the Fed is ending its quantitative tightening program this year, which is currently sucking $90 billion a month out of the economy. That’s a lot of bond selling that suddenly ends.
Bonds will soar.
I’m looking for $110 in the (TLT) sometime in 2023 and maybe even $120. Use every dip to load up on shares in the ETF, calls, call spreads, and one-year LEAPS. This trade is going to work fast. It is the low-hanging fruit of 2024.
Kaching!
The only way to lose money on this position is if the US economy absolutely catches on fire and sends interest rates soaring in the next months. As we are on the verge of a possible soft landing, I highly doubt this is going to happen.
This was a bet that the (TLT) would not fall below $93.00 by the February 16 option expiration in 16 trading days.
Here are the specific trades you need to close out this position:
Sell 40 February 2024 (TLT) $90 calls at………….…….......…$4.10
Buy to cover short 40 February 2024 (TLT) $93 calls at……$1.80
Net Proceeds…………..……….………..………….….....................$2.30
LOSS: $2.30 - $2.50 = -$0.20
(40 X 100 X -$0.20) = -$800.
It’s now the Opening Act for the Bond Market
If you are uncertain about how to execute an options spread, please watch my training video by clicking here.
The best execution can be had by placing your bid for the entire spread in the middle market and waiting for the market to come to you. The difference between the bid and the offer on these deep in-the-money spread trades can be enormous.
Don’t execute the legs individually or you will end up losing much of your profit. Spread pricing can be very volatile on expiration months farther out.
Keep in mind that these are ballpark prices at best. After the alerts go out, prices can be all over the map.