I have been a trader for well over a quarter of a century now. Like most, I began by trading my time for money, in my case trading long hours picking green beans in exchange for $3 for each bushel I was able to haul out of the field. But not finding much enjoyment working in the hot sun, surrounded by snakes, some of them poisonous, I envisioned a better life. It wasn’t long before I traded enough of my time away to have accumulated enough money to buy my first car, which allowed me to drive off to college to study for a career as an electrical engineer.
Surely the life of an engineer would be better than that of a farm worker. However, upon leaving college, I found that my education, while rich in theoretical physics and statistics, did not contain the real life knowledge most employers were seeking from job applicants. Besides, by the time I was ready to look for employment, most of the engineering jobs had already been outsourced overseas. So, I chose to delve into what appeared to be a promising career, and begin trading real estate.
Unfortunately, I did so at the end of the booming U.S. market of the 1980s, and as the market reversed direction I swiftly went bankrupt. Not one to give up easily, I took a job delivering pizzas in order to earn enough to get back into the real estate market, but this time as a contrarian investor. I learned to buy the houses that nobody else wanted, at dirt cheap prices, and in doing so I was able to prosper for the following two decades.
Eventually, this mindset carried over into my stock trading, causing me to become a bargain hunter. Having benefited nicely, by getting out of the bull market of the late 1990s and again in 2007, and going all-in during the bear markets of early 2003 and 2009, I found myself spoiled by the huge returns that followed.
With interest rates in the tank, and the low probability of repeating my luck in the stock market, at least in the near term, I turned to the world of options. Here I became somewhat of an options scientist; using my engineering background to help me mix and match options as a means of preserving my portfolio and outpacing inflation. I currently study options on a daily basis, trade options almost exclusively, and enjoy sharing my experiences with anyone who is interested.
Christopher co-authored the option trading book Show Me Your Options – The Guide to Complete Confidence for Every Stock and Options Trader Seeking Consistent, Predictable Returns.
September 17th, 2011 at 12:26 am
[...] following is a post by Christopher Ebert, who uses his engineering background to mix and match options as a means of preserving portfolio [...]
December 22nd, 2011 at 8:35 am
Christopher;
I love your bio and your article on the straddle on dominos. Your wrote an excellent piece on Naked Puts and I see there were no comments. This is a shame because naked puts are a fabulous strategy that just doesn’t get enough respect.
I have done naked put investing since the mid 1970′s when options were available on only a handful of stocks.
Today with options available on hundreds of stocks, put selling is a viable alternative to buy and hold. In actuality they are an investment strategy as viable as day trading or swing trading or any style of trading really. On my website fullyinformed.com I show my put selling trades going back to 2008. I would be thrilled to have you view some of my trades and comment on any of them. It is surprising how few put sell investors there are in the market place. I wrote an opinion piece called Put Selling Is Superior to Covered Calls which you can read at http://www.fullyinformed.com/put-selling-vs-covered-calls/ My apologies if this blog does not allow links. I also have a forum for members to discuss option strategies of all kinds. I hope you will take the time out to check all of it out.
Teddi Knight fullyinformed.com
December 29th, 2011 at 9:01 pm
Thanks for your positive feedback on my recent articles. It’s reassuring to know that there are others who are willing to pass down the lessons of their trading experience to the next generation. If we can help even a single trader learn how to profit from options, or save one trader from a ruinous loss, we have provided a valuable service.
April 14th, 2012 at 3:13 pm
[...] Steve I was fortunate enough to be introduced to the “Options Scientist” Christopher Ebert. Steve mentioned that Christopher had a firm understanding of options and was very creative with [...]
May 4th, 2012 at 10:00 pm
[...] is a post by Christopher Ebert, who uses his engineering background to mix and match options as a means of preserving portfolio [...]
May 25th, 2012 at 11:00 pm
[...] Chris Ebert who is the resident option expert here had some nice words to say after watching this video that I thought you would appreciate: Based upon the video, of the many option trading services I have encountered, I can say that this particular one presents an authentic strategy. No outlandish promises, just realistic expectations that should be valuable for any moderately advanced option trader looking for a 90% success rate and the ability to withstand occasional losses of several thousand dollars. [...]
June 21st, 2012 at 11:06 pm
[...] preceding is a post by Christopher Ebert, who uses his engineering background to mix and match options as a means of preserving portfolio [...]
February 10th, 2013 at 11:02 pm
[...] preceding is a post by Christopher Ebert, who uses his engineering background to mix and match options as a means of preserving portfolio [...]
May 4th, 2013 at 9:25 pm
[...] Chris Ebert [...]
May 10th, 2013 at 1:24 pm
[...] preceding is a post by Christopher Ebert, who uses his engineering background to mix and match options as a means of preserving portfolio [...]
May 16th, 2013 at 12:15 pm
[...] Chris Ebert [...]