S&P Options Strategies

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What's New At S&P/InvestorsObserver?

01/17/12	Look for new Analyst Insight articles, which are posted today and feature our thoughts on equities like COF, BBT, XLF, and more.
12/23/11	We had added new trades to our Dividends Plus portfolio. New trades on CSX, HRB and ESV are structured to lock in a 11.3% annualized return if assigned and 3.9% in annual dividend yield for a total return of 15.2% over the next year and will not lose money as long as the stocks do not drop by more than 15.7%.
12/22/11	Our analysts made a trade this morning for a position in the Conservative Covered Call Plus portfolio. We earned $1,000 for a follow-on trade for TWX.
12/16/11	We closed out two hedged trades and a covered call in the past month in the Conservative Covered Call Plus portfolio, locking in a total profit greater than $4,000 on those positions and a combined return of 12.4%. These trades that closed were on solid stocks like MCD, ORCL, and CVS.
11/09/11	Every morning before the market opens, Investors Observer publishes 10-15 PriceWatch Alerts, which are covered call trade ideas on widely held stocks that our analysts like the look of. These alerts are a great starting point if you were thinking about buying one of the stocks mentioned. Just this morning, we identified trades for WFC, SLB, and K.
11/02/11	Every trading day, our analysts post news and insight on the S&P Investors Keyhole Market Information service. Three of these stories each day include hedged trade ideas on stocks recently covered by S&P Research Notes. Already today, we have identified covered call opportunities for DISCA and XL.
10/19/11	Our analysts closed out a McDonald's (MCD) trade in the Conservative Covered Call portfolio yesterday that locked in a profit of $2,050. Watch for more trades like this one as October expiration approaches at the end of the week.
10/17/11	We closed out a General Mills (GIS) trade in the 3-Way Managed Risk portfolio that locked in a profit of $1,600.
10/13/11	Today in the S&P/InvestorsKeyhole service our analysts have already identified two trades on Fastenal (FAST) and Akamai Technologies (AKAM) that offer projected returns of 5.7-7.2% with 13-24% downside protection. See the S&P/InvestorsKeyhole Market Information page for more information.
10/12/11	Every morning before the market opens, Investors Observer publishes 10-15 PriceWatch Alerts, which are covered call trade ideas on widely held stocks that our analysts like the look of. These alerts are a great starting point if you were thinking about buying one of the stocks mentioned
09/20/11	New trades are out for the October 2011 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio. This month's four trades on CHK and RAI aim for a 5.4% combined return. Visit our October 2011 Conservative Covered Call Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
09/09/11	Today in the S&P/InvestorsKeyhole service our analysts identified a trade on Covidien PLC (COV) that offers a 7.6% projected return with 8.9% downside protection in just over 4 and a half months. See the S&P/InvestorsKeyhole Market Information page for more information.
09/06/11	In the Dividends Plus portfolio we have posted our new trades. We have sold a covered call on dividend paying stocks. We will enjoy a stream of steady dividend payments as well as call premiums from selling a covered call. Our August '11 covered call picks are structured to lock in a 11.2% average annualized return if assigned and 2.5% average annual dividend yield for a total average return of 13.7% over the next year and a half and will not lose money as long as the stocks do not drop by more than 15.5%.
08/30/11	Our analysts placed a follow-on trade today for a positions that had a sold option expire in August. In the Conservative Covered Call Plus portfolio we brought in $1,750 on a new sold JWN call.
08/19/11	Our August Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio trades expired today, with a Macy's (M) covered call locking in an 8.5% return in less about six months even thought the stock was just about unchanged over that time. Visit our March '11 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio page for complete details.
01/31/11	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 13.3% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 9.9%. Visit our 1st Quarter '11 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
01/27/11	We closed a slew of trades on the Dividends Plus Portfolio in the past week. Including dividend payments, the 3rd Quarter '09 portfolio landed a 21.7% return, the 4th Quarter '09 got a 13.7% return, the 1st Quarter '10 portfolio took in a 12.2% return, and the 2nd Quarter '10 portfolio raked in a 11.1% return.
01/04/11	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 13.5% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 13.7%. Visit our 1st Quarter '10 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
11/30/10	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for an 11.9% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 8.4%. Visit our 4th Quarter '10 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
08/30/10	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 14.0% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 10.3%. Visit our 3rd Quarter '10 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
08/23/10	New trades are out for the MarketSmart 10% Hedged Portfolio. Our debit spreads are structured to bring in a 13.6% return if the underlying stocks do not drop by more than 9% between now and October expiration. Visit the September '10 MarketSmart 10% Hedged Portfolio page for complete details.
08/11/10	Today's Best 10 List includes a nice covered call on EOG Resources (EOG). The trade shoots for a 6.16% projected return (34.05% annualized) and also has 6.45% downside protection. Other stocks covered on the Select 10 today include Genzyme (GENZ), UnderArmor (UA), and Bucyrus (BUCY).
07/29/10	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 12.7% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 10.7%. Visit our 3rd Quarter '10 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
06/30/10	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 14.9% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 10.2%. Visit our 3rd Quarter '10 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
06/02/10	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 19.2% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 12.1%. Visit our 2nd Quarter '10 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
05/05/10	Yesterday on the S&P/InvestorsKeyhole service our analysts identified a trade on Hartford Financial Services (HIG) that offers an 8.0% projected return with 16.4% downside protection in just over 4 months. See the S&P/InvestorsKeyhole Market Information page for more information.
04/27/10	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 17.6% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 9.4%. Visit our 2nd Quarter '10 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
04/20/10	We just added two new covered calls and two new hedged trades to the May '10 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio, including positions on JCI and GE. One trade has a projected return of 9.1% in just under two months. See the May '10 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio page for full details.
03/30/10	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 14.0% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 8.4%. Visit our 2ND Quarter '10 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
03/22/10	Our analysts just made three follow-on trades in our 3-Way Managed Risk Portfolio that netted a quick $2,850 credit. See the January and February 2010 3-Way Managed Risk Portfolio pages for all the details.
03/16/10	Our analysts closed out a few hedged trades on the Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio today for profits of $1,000 and $1,950, respectively. See the January and February 2010 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio pages for full details.
03/10/10	Our analysts just made a follow-on trade in our Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio that netted a quick $500 credit. See our January 2010 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio for full details.
03/02/10	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for an 18.4% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 9.5%. Visit our 1st Quarter '10 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
02/22/10	We just added two new covered calls and two new hedged trades to the March '10 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio, including positions on MRK and GIS. See the March '10 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio page for full details.
02/02/10	Today's Best 10 List includes a nice covered call on Apple (AAPL). The trade shoots for a 5.77% projected return (28.5% annualized) and also has 7.75% downside protection. Other stocks covered on the Best 10 today include Rio Tinto (RTP), Goldman Sachs (GS), and FedEx (FDX).
01/26/10	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 14.4% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 8.5%. Visit our 1st Quarter '10 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
01/20/10	We just added two new covered calls and two new hedged trades to the February '10 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio, including positions on TRV and CVS. See the February '10 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio page for full details.
01/19/10	We just closed a slew of trades on the Dividends Plus Portfolio. Including dividend payments, the 3rd Quarter '08 portfolio landed a 12.1% return, the 4th Quarter '08 got a 21.4% return, the 1st Quarter '09 portfolio took in a 15.7% return, and the 2nd Quarter '09 portfolio raked in a 15.9% return.
12/30/09	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 15.7% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 10.7%. Visit our 1st Quarter '10 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
12/08/09	Today's Best 10 List includes a nice covered call on Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX). The trade shoots for a 6.85% projected return (33.8% annualized) and also has 10.8% downside protection. Other stocks covered on the Select 10 today include Humana (HUM), Coach (COH), and State Street Corp. (STT).
12/01/09	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 15.6% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 10.5%. Visit our 4th Quarter '09 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
10/27/09	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 14.6% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 19%. Visit our 4th Quarter '09 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
10/01/09	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 14.5% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 13.3%. Visit our 4th Quarter '09 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
09/24/09	We just added two new covered calls and two new hedged trades to the October '09 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio, including positions on NSC and LLTC. See the October '09 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio page for full details.
09/02/09	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 17.3% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 17%. Visit our 3rd Quarter '09 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
07/27/09	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 15.3% annualized return, including dividends, with average downside protection of 16%. Visit our 3rd Quarter '09 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
07/21/09	We just added two new covered calls and two new hedged trades to the August '09 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio, including positions on HPQ and TRV. See the August '09 Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio page for full details.
07/14/09	Today's Best 10 Hedged Strategies List includes a nice covered call on CME Group (CME). The trade shoots for a 8.41% projected return (45.80% annualized) and has 8.59% downside protection as well as a 1.72% dividend. Other stocks covered on the Best 10 today include Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR), Simon Property Group (SPG), and Visa (V).
06/30/09	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 16.8% annualized return, including dividends, with downside protection of 11%. Visit our 3rd Quarter '09 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
06/03/09	Today's Best 10 List includes a nice covered call on State Street Corp. (STT). The trade shoots for a 9.73% projected return (44.37% annualized) and also has 14.68% downside protection, as well as a nice dividend. Other stocks covered on the Best 10 today include Hess (HES), Fastenal Company (FAST), and Ross Stores (ROST).
05/28/09	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 23.9% annualized return, including dividends, with downside protection of 13.0%. Visit our 2nd Quarter '09 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
05/20/09	The Conservative Covered Call Plus portfolio has released two new covered call and two new hedged trades today. All told, we are aiming for more than a $3,500 profit with trades on CVX & PEP. See the trade tables for all the details.
05/06/09	Today's Best 10 List includes a nice covered call on FedEx (FDX). The trade shoots for a 8.58% projected return (42.89% annualized) and also has 9.05% downside protection. Other stocks covered on the Best 10 today include PteroBras (PBR), Celgene Corp. (CELG), and Simon Property Group (SPG).
04/22/09	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 20.9% annualized return, including dividends, with downside protection of 13.1%. Visit our 2nd Quarter '09 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
04/08/09	Today's Best 10 Hedged Strategies List includes a nice covered call on Google (GOOG). The trade shoots for a 7.97% projected return (39.87% annualized) and also has 9.62% downside protection. Other stocks covered on the Best 10 today include Autozone Inc. (AZO), Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO), and Public Storage (PSA).
03/25/09	The Conservative Covered Call Plus portfolio has released two new covered call and two new hedged trades today. All told, we are aiming for more than a $2,400 profit with trades on INTC & GILD. See the trade tables for all the details
03/24/09	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 27.3% annualized return, including dividends, with downside protection of 19.9%. Visit our 2nd Quarter '09 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
03/20/09	We closed out a hedged trade on CVS in the Conservative Covered Call Plus portfolio today. That trade banked $1,000 for a 7.1% return.
03/19/09	Today's Best 10 Hedged Strategies List includes a nice covered call on Apollo Group Inc. (APOL). The trade shoots for a 8.46% projected return (53.24% annualized) and also has 14.91% downside protection. Other stocks covered on the Select 10 today include Total SA (TOT), Energizer Holdings Inc. (ENR), and IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (ICE).
02/25/09	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 21.4% annualized return, including dividends, with downside protection of 14.1%. Visit our 1st Quarter '09 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
02/24/09	We have placed two follow-on trades for January Conservative Covered Call Portfolio hedged trades on PM and BMY. These two trades brought us in $1,600 in cash today and raised our target return by 7.6%. These two trades now look to make a 14.2% profit overall.
02/24/09	Today's Best 10 List includes a nice covered call on Google (GOOG). The trade shoots for a 9.21% projected return (63.45% annualized) and also has 8.45% downside protection. Other stocks covered on the Best 10 today include Priceline.com Inc. (PCLN), Apollo Group Inc. (APOL), and First Solar, Inc. (FSLR).
01/30/09	Today's Best 10 List includes a nice covered call on Baidu, Inc. (BIDU). The trade shoots for a 11.47% projected return (83.71% annualized) and also has 12.83% downside protection. Other stocks covered on the Best 10 today include MasterCard Incorporated (MA), Apache Corporation (APA), and First Solar, Inc. (FSLR).
01/28/09	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 16.7% annualized return, including dividends, with downside protection of 18.1%. Visit our 1st Quarter '09 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
01/06/09	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 20.5% annualized return, including dividends, with downside protection of 16.4%. Visit our 1st Quarter '09 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
01/06/09	The Verizon (VZ) hedged trade in our Conservative Covered Call Plus portfolio closed out today with a $900 or 9.8% return in just 6 weeks. See the December '08 portfolio page for all the details.
12/23/08	New trades are posted in the January Conservative Covered Calls Plus Portfolio. The new trades include positions on PM and BMY.
12/04/08	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 25.5% annualized return, including dividends, with downside protection of 21.8%. Visit our 4th Quarter '08 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
11/25/08	Today's Best 10 List includes a nice covered call on Google (GOOG). The trade shoots for a 12.14% projected return (83.59% annualized) and also has 13.40% downside protection. Other stocks covered on the Best 10 today include EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG), CVS Caremark Corporation (CVS), and CME Group Inc. (CME).
10/31/08	Our Weekly Stocks To Watch were released today. QCOM, DIS, XTO, TM and ATVI made the list. Charts, analyst comments, and trade ideas are included. One of the trades has a target return of 13.6% in less than 50 days and the stock price can fall as much as 21% without getting this position in trouble.
10/30/08	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 12.8% annualized return, including dividends, with downside protection of 18.9%. Visit our 4th Quarter '08 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
10/30/08	In the Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio, we have recently placed seven follow-on trades. These are trades that are on positions where at least one set of sold calls has expired worthless. Altogether, these seven trades have raked in more than $5,700 over the past two weeks.
10/23/08	Today's Special Daily Select 10 Strategies includes a nice covered call on Colgate-Palmolive (CL). The trade shoots for a 7.59% projected return (22.90% annualized) and also has 13.09% downside protection and a 2.48% annual dividend rate. Other stocks covered on the Select 10 today include Exxon-Mobil (XOM), FedEx Corp. (FDX), and Anheuser-Busch (BUD).
10/22/08	New trades have been posted in the November Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio. These include a covered call and a hedged trade on both Wal-Mart (WMT) and Kraft Foods (KFT). Our trades target a $2,575 return in just less than three months time.
10/07/08	Today's Special Daily Select 10 Strategies includes a nice hedged trade on Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). The trade shoots for a 3.63% projected return (12.986% annualized) and also has 10.23% downside protection and a 2.71% annual dividend rate. Other stocks covered on the Select 10 today include Visa Inc. (V), Baidu.com (BIDU), and Transocean Inc. (RIG).
09/30/08	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 13.9% annualized return, including dividends, with downside protection of 8.5%. Visit our 4th Quarter '08 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
09/17/08	We closed a PG position early in our Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio today for a bonus $150 profit. With this extra profit, we were able to realize a total gain of $1,050 on the trade, for a 7.5% realized gain on a day the markets really tanked.
09/10/08	Today's Special Daily Select 10 Strategies includes a nice hedged trade on Occidental Petroleum (OXY). The trade shoots for a 7.97% projected return (39.33% annualized) and also has 9.87% downside protection and a 1.74% annual dividend rate. Other stocks covered on the Select 10 today include Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Airgas (ARG), and Carpenter Technology (CRS).
09/03/08	Today's Special Daily Select 10 Strategies includes a nice hedged trade on MetLife, Inc. (MET). The trade shoots for a 11.96% projected return (40.42% annualized) and also has 2.9% downside protection and a 1.4% dividend. Other stocks covered on the Select 10 today include KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC), SunPower Corporation (SPWR), and Schlumberger Limited (SLB).
08/29/08	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio. This month's trades are aiming for a 13.0% annualized return, including dividends, with downside protection of 16.4%. Visit our 3rd Quarter '08 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
08/12/08	Today's Special Daily Select 10 Strategies includes a nice hedged trade on Adobe Systems, Inc. (ADBE). The trade shoots for a 5.66% projected return (30.83% annualized) and also has 7.19% downside protection. Other stocks covered on the Select 10 today include MedcoHealth Solutions (MHS), Nike (NKE), and Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP).
08/12/08	We placed a follow-on trade for a hedged trade in the Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio on General Electric (GE). This trade pulled in $900 today and decreased the amount of capital at risk in this position. See the portfolio page for all the details.
07/18/08	One hedged trade and three covered calls in the Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio expired today for a nice profit. These conservative trades on McDonald’s (MCD), Intel (INTC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Kroger (KR) netted a $2,400+ profit and a 10.5% return all together.
06/20/08	A covered call in the Conservative Covered Call Plus Portfolio expired today for a full profit. This conservative trade on Altria (MO) netted a 6.5% return over the past five months even though the stock lost ground over that time.
06/20/08	With an upgrade to Strong Buy on Hewlett Packard (HPQ) we released a covered call trade in the S&P Investors Keyhole that can bring in potential 4.2% return by August.
06/01/08	The S&P Options Strategies Service for Ameriprise advisors is officially launched to all Amerirprise advisors who are authorized for Equity Options.
05/29/08	New trades are out for the Dividends Plus Portfolio on BK, FDO, and XOM. This month’s trades are aiming for up to an 18% annualized return including dividends. Visit our 2nd Quarter ’08 Dividends Plus Portfolio page for complete details on these trades.
05/27/08	The S&P Options Strategies Service for Ameriprise advisors is soft-launched to a limited number of subscribers.