InvestingWithBrandon

When I buy calls I need two things to go right.
Direction AND timing.
That is why most people lose money buying calls.
If you buy a 1 month call and the stock goes sideways for 30 days... you lose everything.
Theta eats your contract 3.3% per day theoretically.
If you buy a 1 year call and the stock goes sideways for 3 months then rebounds, you win.
You gave yourself time to be right.
Step 1. Market is cheap. Sell 1 year portfolio secured put. Collect $10k.
Step 2. Take 6k and buy shares of the company you are bullish on.
Step 3. Take $3k of that premium. Buy 1 year calls on the same company.

Only invest money you do not need for 5+ years.
Sounds simple.
Most people ignore it & blow up their portfolio.
If you might need it in 2 years... CD or bond.
Not the stock market.
If the market drops 40% right after you invest & you need that money in 2 years you are forced to sell at a loss.
The market does not care when you need the money.
The right way to make your money work:
Every dollar after bills are paid.
Every raise & bonus.
Every dollar of put premium.
Anything you can let compound for 5+ years
Time horizon is risk management when you hold quality companies at good prices.
Non-ne

Strike price selection for sold puts.
Most people overthink this completely.
Here is what I do.
I only sell puts on things I already feel are undervalued.
Then I go 10% below the current price.
Q at $600?
I sell the $540 put.
I am already buying something cheap. (assuming this in the example)
Then I am going 10% below that.
The market has to fall 10% from an already undervalued level to put me in assignment range on expiration date.
& guess what, I always have my ratios in check to be able to take assignment no mayor what!
I will be happy to get paid to buy shares cheaper in the future and not

The first $100,000 is the hardest money you will ever make.
Not because the math is hard.
Because the psychology is brutal.
$10k in the bank. You want a vacation.
$50k in the bank. You want a new car.
$99k in the bank. You want to celebrate.
The people who blow it there never get to compound.
The people who hold it there watch the next $100k come way faster.
Then the next one. Then the next one.
The first $100k proves something more important than money.
It proves you have the discipline to not be your own worst enemy.
That is the hardest thing to learn.

Rule #1 in investing: do not get wiped out.
Rule #2: do not forget rule #1.
Here is exactly how I keep ratios in check when I sell portfolio secured puts & beat the market at the same time.
Expensive market:
Max sold put assignment = < 50% of portfolio value.
Cheap market:
Max assignment = 65% or more of portfolio value to capitalize on deals but still be fine in volatility.
On a $1M portfolio in a expensive market that means max $500k on the hook for to buy of shares for sold puts.
Even if the portfolio falls 50% to $500k I still cover it.
(I can roll too, but just showing I have the cash if

$VOO was $139 in 2013.
Investor says: "I am waiting for a 25% dip."
2014: market hits $200. Still waiting.
2018: market at $240. Still waiting.
2020: FOMO. Buys at the top. COVID hits. Panics. Sells bottom.
Waits again. Buys top again.
Meanwhile the person who just bought in 2013 & held?
VOO is at $600+.
300%+ return.
Did absolutely nothing.
To time the market you have to be right twice.
The bottom AND the top.
Nobody does it consistently.
Time in the market beats timing the market. Every decade.

Mr. Market knocks on your door 600 times a day.
He offers you Apple at $200.
Then $150.
Then $250.
Then $180.
None of it is the true value.
Most people react to every knock.
Buy at $200. He says $150. They panic sell.
Market rebounds to $280. They chase back in.
Buy high. Sell low. Repeat forever.
Here is what I do.
I ignore his daily prices.
I watch the true fundamentals of the business.
& when he offers me something truly cheap I strike.
In investing you get no called strikes.
You can let 1,000 pitches go by.
Swing only at the fat ones.

Same Nvidia.
Same $180 strike.
Completely different outcome.
1 month put: collect $385. Margin of safety: 7%.
1 year put: collect $2,540. Margin of safety: 34%.
Safety comes from buying below fair value & EPS growth in the time frame.
To beat me with monthlies you need 8 wins in a row.
One bad month wipes everything.
& you are forced to sell puts when the market is hot & there is less deals too.
Can a CEO make his company more valuable in 1 month?
No.
In 1 year? Absolutely.
Stocks follow the profits.
That does not materially change in a month...

I look at thousands of companies every week.
I say no to 99% of them.
Here is the exact 5 point filter.
All 5 must pass.
1. EPS growing up & to the right.
2. Stock at or below intrinsic value.
3. Real moat competitors can not copy.
4. Genuine pricing power.
5. Macro thesis is clean.
One fails & I wait.
No FOMO. No chasing. No exceptions.
Apple could charge $2,000 for an iPhone.
People pay it.
That is pricing power.
That is what I want behind my sold puts.

Most people get a pay raise & immediately upgrade their lifestyle.
New car. Nicer place. Better restaurants.
That is exactly why most people are broke.
I could buy a Lambo right now.
I could buy a plane right now. (I'm a private pilot)
I will not do either.
Because that money stops working for me the second I spend it.
My goal is simple.
Get the portfolio to a level where it pays for my entire lifestyle many times over.
The biggest flex is not needing a day job.

YieldMax 正在支付 40% 的股息收益率。
( 以下是这对您的资金实际意味着什么)
投资 $10,000，期限 1 年。
股息再投资。
YieldMax：下跌 43%。
您有 $5,700。
Q：上涨 29%。
您有 $12,900。
收益率基于当前股价。
随着 NAV 下降。
您的支付也会下降。
$100 的 10% = $10。
$50 的 10% = $5。
这是陷阱所在。
收益率看起来很高是因为股价在下跌。但别被骗了...这是较低股价的百分比...而不是您的成本基础。
出售投资组合担保看跌期权以获得收益。保留增长。两全其美。

I sold puts on Meta.
Collected $46,000 instantly.
My cash balance? $232.
Cash secured put on the same trade would have required $280,000 sitting in cash doing nothing.
Instead I used my base portfolio as collateral.
Took that $46k & bought Meta LEAP calls.
Took the rest & bought VOO, Q & META shares.
Zero margin interest.
Zero cash drag.
Full upside intact.
Ratios in check to be fine in any downturn.
It is exactly like a HELOC on your house.
Except you pay nothing in interest.
That gap = $280k working vs $280k sleeping
This is a MAJOR difference.

Most people think a stock dropping 25% automatically makes it a buy.
It does not.
If a stock fell from $400 to $300 but intrinsic value is $200.
You just bought an overpriced stock on sale.
That is not investing.
Here is what I check before I buy anything.
Is it trading at or below intrinsic value?
Does it have a real moat?
Is EPS growing up & to the right?
Does it have pricing power?
Is the macro thesis clean?
All yes?
I back the truck up.
One no?
I wait.
Price is what you pay.
Value is what you get.
Learn the difference & you will never panic buy again.

The S&P 500 has never once failed to hit new all time highs after a crash.
Not after 1987.
Not after 2000.
Not after 2008.
Not after 2020.
Not after 2022.
Every single time the experts said it was different this time.
Every single time they were wrong.
The crash feels like the end when you are in it.
Then you look back 5 years later & realize it was the best buying opportunity of your life.
The people who panicked out locked in permanent losses.
The people who had structure & stayed in made a killing.
Volatility is not the risk.
Permanent decisions made out of temporary fear is the risk.

When volatility spikes most people panic.
This is when I get excited.
Market drops 15%.
Fear index explodes.
Everyone is selling.
Put premiums are the fattest they will be all year.
That is when I sell portfolio secured puts on quality companies now trading at a discount.
Take that premium & buy shares + LEAP calls at the same time.
Getting paid to be patient while everyone else panics out.
Fear creates the best put selling conditions of the entire market cycle.
Most people run from it.
That is exactly why most people lose.

The 5 most popular option strategies ranked.
(only 1 actually works long term)
🔴 D tier — Covered calls. Bullish with one hand. Cap your upside with the other. Doesn't protect downside. Usually makes no sense....
🔴 C tier — Cash secured puts. Bullish to sell put, but sitting in cash doing nothing while the stock runs.
🟡 B tier — Buying puts. You're betting against every CEO whose job is to prove you wrong.
🟡 A tier — Buying calls. Better but timing still has to be perfect. Hard to do consistently.
🟢 S tier — Portfolio secured puts + LEAPS + shares. This is what scaled me to 7 figures th

I retired at 31 doing this.
Step 1. Build your base.
$40k VOO. $40k Q. $20k high conviction companies near intrinsic value.
This is your foundation & your collateral.
Step 2. Sell 1+ year portfolio secured puts.
Quality companies only.
Moat.
Pricing power.
Good valuation.
Collect the premium.
Pay zero margin interest.
Step 3. Redeploy every dollar of premium.
More shares.
LEAPS on your highest conviction names.
Never let it sit as cash.
Step 4. Keep ratios in check.
Always know your 7-day liquidity.
A 40% crash should not keep you up at night.
That is it.
No day trading.
No covered calls