Monthly Progress Review: February

It is time again for my Monthly Progress Review.  This article will highlight the twelve trades I made in the month of February, as well as the profit (or loss) I received for each trade.  This month I also added to one of my long term dividend holdings because I felt the entry price was right. Hopefully that particular trade encourages some of my devout dividend investor readers.

In other news, my technical analysis has continued to improve, and as a result it has allowed me to be somewhat more aggressive in my active trading.  These 'chart based' trades as I'll call them, have been more profitable than some of my other methods.  Furthermore, (and this is the most exciting improvement for this month I believe) is that I have begun shorting. Overall, another extremely active month for me in terms of buying and selling.  I was proud of several of my trades, and especially disappointed in some of my others. I guess that's the way it goes.

Nonetheless, listed below is a summary of the dividends I received for the month of February in my Dividend Income Portfolio, as well as the profit or loss from my day trading activities:

Recent Trade...

Good afternoon all,

Rarely do I highlight individual trades 'mid month'; typically I wait until the end of the month and roll them all up in my Monthly Progress Reviews.  But, I haven't written in awhile and thought I would provide a quick update to my last trade. 

This month I have already made 10 trades, but my last trade in particular was the 'riskiest' and most complicated trade I personally have ever done.  Many pros will laugh at its simplicity, but for me as a novice retail investor, I thought it would be worth mentioning and possibly soliticing some feedback from some of my readers.  All of that said, here are the details of my most recent trade:

Today I bought 200 shares of Proshares Ultrashort QQQ ETF (ticker QID).  From Morningstar, 

ProShares UltraShort QQQ could be suitable as a specialty satellite holding either for high-frequency traders who understand how this exchange-traded fund works and who have a very high risk tolerance, or for investors who hold a bearish conviction toward large-cap growth stocks, most of which are tech companies. This ETF also might be a fit for investors who prefer avoiding the unlimited loss potential in short-selling individual stocks, those taking a speculative position, or those seeking a near-term hedge.

I then immediately sold a covered call of 2 contracts on QID as well, making a premium of right at about $225.

I think the Nasdaq is completely too high right now, and I am expecting a pull back in the near term.  Things in Greece are completely affecting the markets right now so we'll see what happens.   

Anyway, what are your thoughts?

DividendPartisan