Customer Reviews:
Outstanding book on long-term put strategy.......2007-01-02
In his book, Dennis Eisen describes exactly one way to trade options: Selling Puts, namely LEAPS (Long-term Equity Anticipation Securities). What makes this book so interesting to read is that Eisen starts with a general overview and then goes into a level of useful detail which I have not seen in any other book on options yet. He explains how options are taxed, how the margin requirement is calculated, and what actually happens when options are exercised/assigned. This knowledge you normally have to acquire in years of practice but Eisen just spreads it out in front of the reader. Despite the level of detail the book is easy to follow, and I finished it in two days.
What makes the author very likable is that he writes in the "I" form, i.e. he writes from his experience, and not with the claim to know the absolute truth.
The book is divided in three main parts: Part one covers the basics, part two takes a quantitative look at the risk and reward of an actual system, and how you can improve your odds, and part three lists formulas and computer codes. There is also a big appendix with over a hundred tables of put premiums calculated with the Black-Scholes-Formula. The book is rounded off by a bibliography and Eisen's favorite web sites (some of them are outdated).
The main reason why Eisen prefers long-term puts (and long-term meaning up to 30 months) is that they are less risky. Due to inflation and the fact that good companies increase their earnings over time thus driving their share price up, he feels that long-term options are less likely to be assigned. For this, he is willing to sacrifice quite some put premium as the following example shows: For an American Option (stock price = strike price, volatility 0.3, dividend rate 3%) the premium for a 15 months-put is $11.46 yet for the 30 months-put it is only $15.06. In other words, although the time is twice as long until expiration, the premium increases by only 31%. In proportion, the premium for a 6-months-put is even higher, at $7.71. This is because options lose most of their value in the last months before expiration.
Here I would deviate from the author's system, I would always prefer to sell two consecutive 15-months-puts for $22.92 or even five consecutive 6-months-puts for $38.53 rather than one 30-months-put for $15.06. By rolling them out and down I would try to prevent being assigned too many stocks.
Are there any downsides to this book? Not really. One thing I did not understand is how Eisen can put the premium which he earns into a cash market account at 6% interest rate. (This contributes an important part to the profitability of his system). In chapter 4 he explains how much margin is required: The whole put premium plus 10 or 20% of the underlying stock price. So how can he put the premium into a cash market account when he has to keep it as a margin? My online broker will give me less than 1% on my margin account.
And one thing I would be looking forward to: Since this book was written in 2000, it could use an update. Then Eisen could test his strategy with a longer history and real data (he had to calculate backdated data because LEAPS had only been existing for seven years at the time this book was written), and update some of the web sites and bibliographic data.
But altogether this is a great book, and it deserves five stars.
A very good book about options and specifically about LEAP puts.......2005-12-05
I really enjoyed reading this book. First, it's very condensed and well structured. The author gives a very good overview of stock options, then he explains his strategy (basically it's selling long term naked puts). Because in general selling naked options is considered to be risky, the author explains in details why his strategy is actually a low risk one. He includes the raw data he used, the programs and formulas and the results and their interpretation. The books is written from an individual investor point of view. What I really like about the book is that the author is not trying to avoid or downplay the areas of concerns. Actually he is doing exactly the opposite. He is trying to find and address the weakest points of his strategy and prove his points. Overall, it's a great book to learn about stock options, especially the LEAP puts strategy.
This is an important book.......2002-03-24
I trade equity options. I have read a lot of books about options. Basically, once you have read McMillan's book, none of the other option books have anything to add. Except this book.
This book shows some original thinking; it's not just the same old thing about bull spreads, etc. The book advocates more than just selling puts to get premium or to use as a method of buying stock at a discount. He explains how you can sell puts on solid companies and buy stock of other companies with the premium you brought in. He really got me thinking, and I have gone from his ideas to developing some of my own.
This book is well worth reading. Read it to get ideas on how to use puts for your own advantage. Learn something new.
Too Much Theory, Not Enough Real World!!.......2002-02-23
I picked this up ... at a book clearance sale, if you have to pay more pick another title. First of all the author says he sells puts (contracts agreeing to buy a stock or index at a set price until a specific date for which you receive a premium) to buy stocks in his investment account. There is not a single example in the book of a trade he executed this way. Instead he fills about 1/4 of the book with hypothetical computer runs assuming you had sold every LEAP contract over a multi year period. That is just a silly example for the individual investor. That is akin to comparing all of the insurance coverage written by Prudential with you writing a policy on your grandma.
Second he gives you numerous pages on how to calculate Volatility and Black-Scholes, etc. What is missed is that you want to be selling Puts and Calls when Volatility is High, and most option brokers do this calculation with a computer. As for Black-Sholes, the calculation is easy to find on the web, but any "advantage" that it may provide is used by insititutions who can rapidly scan the whole market and quickly correct any price imbalances. Unless you enjoy crunching financial formulas by hand, this section is filler at best.
Finally, his stock selection and risk control methods are questionable at best. Think Enron and realize that even "independent" reviewers like Morningstar and Value Line had it well rated up until the bitter end. If you dont already have a solid stock picking methodology, you should not start buy selling options. The notion that a reader should do anything other than sell an option that is 100% covered by CASH is the same as endorsing the methods that bankrupted many very large traders, banks and hedge-funds.
If you are looking for investment ideas Getting Started in Options may be a good place to START. Throw in Peter Lynch, Justin Mamis, and Andrew Tobias for good measure.
One idea explored throroughly.......2001-01-07
I saw this book in the book store, and spent some time there reading the first few chapters. I was so interested in his ideas, that I purchased the book. It's well-written and not at all dry, unlike some other investment books.
The author starts off by telling us how he had been able to amass a decent-sized portfolio over the years. He had a couple of hundred thousand dollars saved away, all invested in good long-term stock investments. He wished there was a way he could generate more income on-top of his already solid investments.
He started out by selling covered calls on some of his stock portfolio. That worked for a while, but he soon became frustrated that some of his best performing stocks were being called away, while he was left with a portfolio of poorly performing stocks. That is one of the down sides to covered call investing.
So he tried selling put options instead. Selling a put option is when you promise to purchase a stock at a specific price. In exchange for this promise you get paid a premium up front.
The author has found a lot of success picking solid companies, with sales and earnings growth, and selling put options one or two years out (LEAPs). Most of the LEAP puts he sells expires worthless, thus allowing him to keep the premium as profit, and sell some more long-term puts for more premium.
Most of the book deals with his back-testing data for this theory. He tests different quality stocks, different expiry dates, and different strikes. All in an effort to find the best overall results. In the end, some of his data suggests that selling long term puts at a strike price below the current price on the highest quality stocks has a 95% plus success rate.
If this type of theory interests you, I suggest getting this book and studying the theory and data for yourself.
Book Description
In Search of Green provides the nuts and bolts of the things you need to do to start and maintain a successful investment club. We want to make your journey as easy as possible. We think of forming a club very much in the same way as planting a garden which will bear fruit. Your story begins when you form your club.
Amazon.com
If the money that passes through the hands of African Americans was ever centralized, it would equal the gross national product of the ninth largest country on earth. Despite this collective wealth, few blacks take advantage of this country's stock market--a trend financial journalist Carolyn Brown would like to reverse. The Millionaires' Club, written under the auspices of Black Enterprise magazine, is a concise guide outlining the basics of acquiring money through establishment of an investment club. It works like this:
Groups of people pool their money to invest. The club requires members to plunk down a set amount of money each month, which it then uses to buy shares in securities--mostly stocks. Profits and dividends are plowed back into the portfolio until the club reaches its financial goal. The appeal is simple: As a group, people with small amounts of money can consolidate their financial resources to make larger purchases of company shares.
Brown details everything you need to know to start a club, including recruiting members, regulating the group, and how to become profitable. She advises clubs to invest in growth companies, to diversify investments, reinvest earnings and dividends, and to focus on long-term investments. Brown also advocates the use of the Internet, investing in real estate, and the building of youth investment clubs. All told, Carolyn Brown's wealth-building wisdom is sound and realistic: "The good news about belonging to an investment club is that not only are you helping to enhance the group's cash reserves, but you are learning personal wealth building for the enrichment of your family, children, and the next generation." A good investment, indeed. --Eugene Holley Jr.
Book Description
"Individuals have found that investment clubs are a wonderful introduction to the stock market. The first step is to get started, and Carolyn Brown has made it easy."-Kenneth S. Janke, President and CEO, National Association of Investors Corporation
The Millionaires' Club expertly teaches the essentials of running an investment club. Comprehensive without being complicated, this easy-to-follow guide covers everything from choosing a broker and running effective meetings to investing online and analyzing your club's results. You'll discover how to start the club that works best for you.
The Millionaires' Club will show you how to:
- Recruit members and develop an investment strategy
- Form your club's legal structure and design operating procedures
- Tackle record keeping and other taxing issues
- Research securities like the pros
- Use the Internet and the news to uncover helpful data
- Invest beyond the stock market-and build your own retirement portfolio
Special Bonus
To help you stay abreast of the latest business and money management information, Black Enterprise is pleased to offer:
- A free issue of Black Enterprise magazine
- A discount coupon for savings off the registration fee at Black Enterprise Events
(See inside coupons for details.)
Customer Reviews:
Excellent guide to organize an investment club from scratch!.......2007-01-06
The author based this book on the official gude from the National Association of Investors Corporation, which is like the bible to organize investment clubs. But this book adds a lot of practical experience from other investment clubs that the official guide doesn't have. Go ahead and buy it if you are thinkiing of getting a good hold in organizing your investment club.
No Fuss No Muss Personal Finance.......2001-05-02
Let's face it. Personal finance is a drag. So many books, so much advice, and so much confusion. That is until you read the Millionaire's Club. Surprisingly, the author Brown does an excellent job. I say surprisingly because most personal finance writers seem to be just as dense as the very books that they keep churning out to the general public. Brown's book, however is short, clear and helpful. She's a straight shooter that believes in serving up no fuss and no muss personal finance. Millionaire's Club has got to be one of the best how-to investment club books currently on the market. I should know. I started an investment club three weeks after reading the book.
churning out.do a poor job of explaining difficult of little to of cutting through the morass of information involved in started starting ersonal finance jargon boiling down difficult concepts and Starting an investment club is Brown's book is not original, but it certainly is
Great Info.......2000-09-18
This book is a must have for those taking the necessary steps to a bright financial future. This book provided necessary information on all aspects of investment clubs from startup to management. I highly recommend this book.
Amazon.com
As in their first book, The Beardstown Ladies' Common-Sense Investment Guide, this lively group of ladies manages to explain in terms any layperson can understand how they have managed to outperform professional money managers since 1983 and build their retirement portfolios to enviable proportions. Folksy, funny, and filled with native money wisdom.
Book Description
The group of ladies who make up the Beardstown Ladies' Investment Club has been making money together since 1983. In their national bestseller The Beardstown Ladies' Common-Sense Investment Guide, they explained in simple terms how they beat the stock market by doing their homework, using common sense, and investing for the long term.
Now they bring their homespun wisdom to retirement planning in The Beardstown Ladies' Stitch-in-time Guide to Growing Your Nest Egg. In this handbook you'll learn everything there is to know about preparing for your financial future and guaranteeing yourself a comfortable retirement.
With their common sense, down-to-earth approach, The Beardstown Ladies will teach you every trick and tip for living out your golden years in comfort -- just the way they do! From learning the ins and outs of IRA's and determining your Social Security benefits to creating a budget in 10 easy steps and finding the best places to retire, it's all in here. The Beardstown Ladies' Stitch-in-time Guide to Growing Your Nest Egg is the perfect guide for everyone who cares about their financial future.
Customer Reviews:
Not as great as it sounds.......2000-04-26
The book offers basic information on how to invest and save money, but, that's all it does. The book is more appropriate for someone at a later stage of their life, and for someone who has no idea how one should save or invest money. If you already know the basic information about investing, then this book is not for you.
A Primer on Common Sense Investments and Financial Info.......1996-05-26
If ever there were a standard primer for financial information, my vote would be this book. What a wonderful gift this book would
make for a newly married couple, or even a daughter who has just graduated high school or college. A son, too for that matter! As
someone who has never had much extra money, I just recently graduated from college and am now pursuing full time employment, I know
that when I begin bringing in that second income, that I will want to have some education on what to do with it. I bought this book for that purpose.
It is a basic information book that provides vital facts and figures to anyone needing advice in regards to insurance, 401K, stocks, bonds, retirement and ect.
For someone who has just a limited knowledge of these topics, this book will be a Godsend. A child could read and understand the concepts presented in this book.
It gives resources for more information as well. Pick up this book and you will expand your financial horizons! The book is written in a very casual, witty and motherly type fashion.
It will make you warm and fuzzy! And perhaps even fatten your wallet
Book Description
ReferenceLarge Print Edition* A New York Times BestsellerOn the heels of the enormous success of their first two national bestsellers, The Beardstown Ladies offer more of the common-sense wisdom that has made them the most trusted financial advisors in America. Now the fourteen women tell us exactly what we need to know and do to spend the least and get the most. Its easy once you know the ground rules and the ladies show you how with fail-proof planners, worksheets, charts, graphs, and a spending-smart Savings Pyramid that cant miss.
Customer Reviews:
Beardstown Ladies Guide to Smart Spending for Big Savings.......2004-02-10
This book has a wealth of information on how to save money.
It is directed to middle age and elderly people. For instance,
the book provides car buying checklists, brand name equivalents,
repair or replace decision-making criteria, insulation R value
statistics and the priority pyramid . The priority pyramid
ranks spending categories by order of importance. There is a
section of mail order drugs and comparative pricing to local
pharmacies. This book is worth the price of admission in every
respect. It will help you in your personal planning and
routine purchasing decisions.
Everyday hints.......2002-10-05
This book has a lot of every day hints that are timeless.
Pathetic.......1999-11-20
OK, Now that it is official that they didn't beat the market, they have reversed gears and try to address the savings part. Nothing to differentiate this from a zillion other such books. I should grant them one thing, they know how to market their name to catch on the gullible.
Average customer rating:
- Well suited to women worried about their financial future
- Very good, except for the diamonds.
|
The Money Club: Is Your Financial Future Safe? What Every Woman Should Know
Diane Terman Felenstein ,
Marilyn Crockett , and
Dale Burg
Manufacturer: Fireside
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0684846055 |
Book Description
DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR MONEY?
* If your husband died, could you keep living in your current home?
* Do you know how much money you have for retirement?
* Are you afraid of becoming a "bag lady"?
Many smart, competent women feel insecure about dealing with money. They delegate authority to their spouses or an adviser, or they pretend financial issues simply don't exist -- and at the same time they fear they will suddenly be left without money. But ignoring your financial safety can lead to disaster. Here, in plain English, are all the answers you need to feel secure about your future.
The Money Club contains the lessons of a group of successful women who, despite their personal and professional achievements, didn't know enough about their finances. They joined together to learn what they needed to know, and now they share their knowledge with you. Here are all the answers you need for saving, investing, and planning for your future -- plus advice for every major financial transition in your life, from getting married to coping with widowhood -- presented in clear, easy-to-understand writing.
Don't let your "bag lady fears" overwhelm you -- take control of your finances today with The Money Club!
Customer Reviews:
Well suited to women worried about their financial future.......2001-08-30
OK, I am not a woman, so I am probably not supposed to have read this book. But I thought I would check it out. And I was pleasantly surprised.
The ladies involved in the writing of this book were involved in starting a 'Money Club' investment group. In the course of running this group, they learnt and taught about all the basics of personal finance, including (from the title headings):
* Investment Basics.
* Where To Put Your Money And Why.
* Retirement Planning.
* Buying Insurance.
* Planning Your Husband's (And Your) Estate.
* What To Do When Things Change.
Cover of the topics is fairly thorough. But, as many readers would now, the content of the majority of entry level personal finance books is all pretty standard. So, in the end it is the format and style of writing that makes a good one worth the read. Thankfully, this book is well written - relaxing and interesting to read. The inclusion of lots of personal anecdotes (especially by the members of The Money Club) makes alot of the points easier to understand and absorb. And it really drills home the importance of applying the message of the book.
All in all, a fantastic book for women, especially those 30+ worried about the state of their financial affairs. For those males (or women younger than 30), I might recommend 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Personal Finance in Your 20s And 30s' by Sarah Young Fisher and Susan Shelly, or 'The Wealthy Barber' by David Chilton.
Very good, except for the diamonds........2001-08-29
Melt away your fears of finances with THE MONEY CLUB. I have read a bunch of these index books about wealth, and this one is serviceable, covering most of the basics. What this book has that others don't: it reaches women on a personal level and lets us know WHY we need to start paying attention to our money and our financial futures. The ladies on the cover (members of the NYC based money club) are described just enough so that you get to almost get to know them. Interspersed throughout the text, you read about mistakes that they made before they joined the club and took back control of their lives. This personal touch made me think twice about some subjects which had made my eyes glaze over when I read about them in other books. I found the book very motivating and extraordinarily revealing. We can make a lot of mistakes in our wills and in the way we title assets: these can come back to haunt our heirs if we don't think of certain consequences. I appreciate the concrete illustrations of what can go very, very wrong! There were only a few tidbits that I did not agree with. I do not agree that a woman is helped by thinking of a diamond as a future re-sale item. On the other hand, I liked the suggestion that women who don't have their own sources of income might "ask" their husbands for a few shares of a mutual fund instead of jewelry or whatever is a fashionable marital gift these days. Whether you are a working woman or a Wife with a capital W, this book is full of eye-openers and good advice. Reading The Money Club can be a giant first step to building psychological security about your financial future.
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- 2006 Country Profile and Guide to Austria: National Travel Guidebook and Handbook--Economic Reports, Commercial Guides, World War II, Holocaust, Anti-Semitism Conferences (Two CD-ROM Set)
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- Agricultural Trade Conflicts and Gatt: New Dimensions in U.S.-European Agricultural Trade Relations
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