InvestingWithBrandon

Retail investor: I sell the second a trade's green. Lock in the win before it disappears.
Me: & your losers?
Retail investor: I hold those, hoping they come back.
Me: So you cut your winners fast & let your losers run? That's backwards from how money is actually made.
Retail investor: ...wait, is that bad?
Me: It's the most common mistake there is. You cap every win small & let every loss get big.
Retail investor: So I've got it completely flipped?
Me: I let my winners run for years & never sell a great company as long as the valuation remains reasonable. The "bad companies" at bad prices, wel

Retail investor: I'm holding a few stocks down bad. Just waiting to get back to even, then I'll sell.
Me: Why sell at even? If they're great companies, why bail the second you're whole?
Retail investor: I mean... I just want my money back without losing.
Me: & if they're TRASH? Why hold a falling company at all, just to avoid admitting a loss?
Retail investor: ...so either way, "waiting for even" is the wrong move?
Me: Every time. The stock doesn't know your cost basis. Either it's a great company worth holding, or it's not. "Even" is an emotion, not a strategy.
Retail investor: So judge the c

"I'm just taking a little profit off the table."
That sentence has capped more wealth than almost anything else in investing.
You found a great company. It ran. So your gut says sell some and lock it in.
You just sold the exact thing that was making you money, to feel safe for one afternoon.
The entire point is to find elite companies and let them run for DECADES. Trimming your winners every time they're up is how you end up holding a pile of mediocre stuff you were too nervous to let grow.
I don't trim just to trim.
I trim when it makes sense to from a fundamental standpoint.
Not my percent p

Most people "trading" check their phones probably 200 times a day.
Every red candle feels like a punch in the gut.
You refresh your account at red lights.
You lie in bed at 1am running scenarios you can't control.
Some weeks you'd be up. The next week you hand it all back.
But it doesn't have to be like that...
Because hey... We are all here to make money right.
How many day trading billionaires do you know?
This is why the name of the game is the long game.
Buy great companies for less than they are worth with great EPS growth.
Then ONLY use options to magnify ultra bullish plays.
It's that s

The stock market will not go up every year.
You need to accept that.
If you can't, you shouldn't own stocks.
Very simple post.
But also very important post.

Let me say the thing nobody wants to hear.
Everyone posting their gains the last 3 years is a "genius."
In a bull market, throwing darts works.
Buying random calls works.
The wheel works.
Everything works.
The market's been a tailwind so strong it's covering for terrible strategies.
The real test isn't now.
It's the next 40% drawdown.
The next COVID circuit breaker.
The next 2022.
Ask yourself honestly:
Does my options strategy survive THAT?
If it only works when the market goes up... you don't have a strategy...
You are gambling & got lucky.

I sold a put on a company I love a year ago. Then I did nothing.
The stock wobbled all over the place. I did nothing.
Headlines screamed recession. People panic sold. I did nothing.
It dropped 15% at one point and everyone swore the top was in. I did nothing.
That contract just kept bleeding in my favor the entire time. I did nothing.
A year later it expired worthless. I kept every dollar of premium. For doing… nothing.
That's the part people miss about selling puts the right way. The "work" is just sitting still while everyone around you loses their mind.

Retail investor: I'm gonna learn to day trade. That's where the real money is.
Me: How's it going so far?
Retail investor: Up some days, down others. I'll get there though.
Me: 94% of day traders lose money long term. You really think you're in the 6%?
Retail investor: I mean… somebody has to be.
Me: Sure. Somebody wins the lottery too. I stopped trying to be the exception. I simply buy great companies for less than they are worth and use long duration options to magnify ultra bullish setups.
Retail investor: So you're not glued to charts all day?
Me: I check things maybe 10 minutes a day. T
h

You can beat 99% of people...
Without being smarter than them.
Without being luckier than them.
You just have to be willing to endure discomfort LONGER than they will.
The market drops 30%. They sell. You hold.
A company goes quiet for 2 years. They give up. You keep buying.
The patience nobody wants to have is the edge everybody's willing to use.

I want nothing but the best for everyone but I know a lot of ppl got SMOKED with covered calls.
I have been very LOUD about this.
They are a trap!
They cap upside and don’t help much in downside.
If you are bullish enough to hold the shares in your account why would you wanna immediately bet against yourself.
The cashflow you pick up is peanuts and you are missing the big move…
They work 9 out of 10 times.
But that 1 time, it will wipe out what you did the other 9.
They don’t work.
Stop with the garbage retail strategies done by ppl that don’t beat the market.

Most people "trading" check their phones probably 200 times a day.
Every red candle feels like a punch in the gut.
You refresh your account at red lights.
You lie in bed at 1am running scenarios you can't control.
Some weeks you'd be up. The next week you hand it all back.
But it doesn't have to be like that...
Because hey... We are all here to make money right.
How many day trading billionaires do you know?
This is why the name of the game is the long game.
Buy great companies for less than they are worth with great EPS growth.
Then ONLY use options to magnify ultra bullish plays.
It's that s

Two people sell the same put on the same dip.
Person A: 1 month duration. Collects $365.
Me: 1 year duration. Collect $2,500.
Stock rips 50% over the next year.
Person A made 50%... on $365.
I made 50%... on $2,500.
Same trade. Same conviction. Wildly different ROI.
Short duration forces you to keep guessing the next 30 days over and over.
Long duration lets the company's earnings do the heavy lifting while you sit still.
The lazy trade is the better trade.

There is a HUGE problem with your covered calls right now...
I bet many are ITM and you are rolling up and out like you follow the herd to do...
The problem with the CC roll is that you are rolling in the direction of the EPS growth.
Why does that matter?
Because EPS growth is very strong right now & where EPS goes is where the stock price usually goes...
So getting your CCs to expire worthless is tough now.
Upside is capped.
Downside was never actually protected.
Bullish to buy the shares/
Bearish to sell calls against them and cap upside.
You are betting against yourself in a way...
So now w

9/10 times owning a home that you live in is a terrible investment.
Most people will say oh I bought it for 400 and sold for 500.
Yet they don’t add up what they paid in taxes, interest, HOA, insurance, etc over the hold period. Plus RE commissions to sell.
The stock market will VERY likely outperform your RE appreciation for a home you personally live in.

Retail investor: I just buy and hold index funds. Slow and steady.
Me: Good. Seriously. That's the base. I do the exact same thing with $VOO and $Q
Retail investor: Wait, you hold index funds too?
Me: Of course. The only difference is I don't let them just sit there. I use them as collateral and sell puts against them for another 15% ish on top.
Retail investor: So you're not replacing index investing… you're stacking on it?
Me: Exactly. You're doing step one perfectly. You just stopped before step two.
Retail investor: What if he market crashes with he portfolio secured put?
Me: Ratios are al

10 ways to NOT be part of the herd:
1. Invest $1,000 right now (stop waiting for the “perfect time”)
2. Exercise for 45 min (yes, even if you're tired)
3. Play with your kids (put the phone down and be there)
4. Lock your phone in a drawer for 1 hour
5. Walk outside without headphones
6. Don't waste time watching TV (Netflix isn’t helping you)
7. Talk to your spouse for 30 min (not about to do items)
8. Eat something healthy (stop pretending cereal is food)
9. Drink water (not Gatorade, not soda)
10. Read one chapter of an investing book.
You'd be surprised how just doing a little bit each day