WHAT MAKES A GOOD TRADING PODCAST?

There are thousands upon thousands of podcasts that get shared and distributed. Some of them are news shows. Some of them are more educational, how-to in nature. They cover topics from culture to comics to business. I personally am a lover of entrepreneurship and business podcasts. Some shows have a single host, while others are made up of group dialogue or interviews.

#1. TRADE IDEAS

It’s hard to have a show about trading that never gives a trade idea. Many shows, however, are structured to do just that, avoid giving trade ideas. There are a number of reasons why that is. If you work for a broker dealer, the last thing you want to do is put your licenses in jeopardy by giving advice. Also, in a world where lawyers abound, no one can afford to step out and say “do this”.

Rather than tell others how to trade, the main goal of The Weekly Option is to share my ideas on how I view trades. Each show provides three different trade ideas. I discuss covered calls, credit spreads, and debit spreads. I focus on US equity markets, mostly because the average listener of my podcast is located in the US. I also had a background in commodity trading as an energy professional. I don’t get many chances to discuss that on the show, but I do occasionally throw in an ETF trade that might give some commodity exposure. On every show, the listener here’s my trades and has a chance to get in my head a bit.

#2. TRADE FOLLOW-UP AND ADJUSTMENTS

Blame it on CNBC, or the other talking head news shows, but so many people are fed up with shows without accountability. How many times do the guys on TV come back and discuss the results of the trades they mentioned yesterday, last week, or last month? It’s somewhere close to very rarely. The exception occurs when they have an exceptional winner. Assume once per quarter or less.

Before discussing the new trade ideas each week, I discuss the results of the trades from the last show. If all three made money, that’s great for my ego, but actually bad for the listener. How can that be? When my option trades lose money, I discuss my next step, next trades. I look for trades to mitigate loss or turn a loser into a winner. This is where the gold is found on the show. The losses allow the listener to hear how a professional adjusts risks and maneuvers to stay profitable. I’d love to say that every trade is a winner. Any professional knows that’s a lie. What’s Plan B? Plan B is what separates the wheat from the chaff. Trading comes down to strategy and risk management. You need them both! And the listeners get to hear my process with the losses.

(Don’t worry, I get some really nice wins too!)

#3. EDUCATION

Ah… education! Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for life! Each show is essentially a dynamic classroom for aspiring and current option traders. I strip away as much complexity as possible to deliver a show that newbies and professionals alike can enjoy. At the end of the day, for any investment I make I want to know three things:

1. When do I make money,

2. When do I lose money, and

3. How much can I make versus how much can I lose?

My way of communicating option trades emphasizes those three. Sure, I could discuss the option greeks, but I would lose most listeners. Given that most retail traders aren’t dynamically hedging, there’s really no reason to get bogged down in confusing language. Let’s just talk about where we make money, where we lose money, and how much risk do we have on. It’s great!

I receive emails all the time from people who are enjoying this approach to trading. To me, options are an essential tool to have in your investment toolkit. Would you build a house without a hammer? I want to have access to the best tools and knowledge when it’s time to start building. Listeners of The Weekly Option will at least have an idea of options as a required tool. And the podcast is a great place to get weekly education on how to use that tool!

THE WEEKLY OPTION

These three topics are the focus of each of the weekly episodes. What’s important to you? Feel free to comment below or send an email. And, if you haven’t listened to an episode yet, now’s the time. New episodes are posting each weekend, in time to prepare for market open on Monday morning market open. I’ll leave the links below. I look forward to having you join me on this journey!

Happy Trading!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Eric Lewis is a self-proclaimed finance junkie with 17 years of trading experience. He began his trading career focused on index option trading at the CBOE in Chicago, where he spent 5 years as a market maker. He entered the energy business after graduate school, and would spend more than ten years in fuel trading, with a focus on gasoline and ethanol. Eric is the host of The Weekly Option, a weekly podcast on option trading. He has a BA in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA in analytical finance from the University of Chicago.

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