A Bear Put Spread Can Help Investors Profit In Down-Trending Markets

By Lou Manning


Wit the market having been in a sustained bull run for many years, the recent depression caught many traders unprepared. With the markets possibly set to become more volatile, learning to trade the downtrends is an essential skill. Tools such as a bear put spread are useful for profiting safely from such market conditions, and every effort should be learnt to understand how they work.

While many people fear a bear market, it actually offers huge opportunities to those equipped with the right trading strategy. Bull markets tend to be long and slope, while downturns are much shorter and steeper. This means there is much more money to be made more quickly, so there is huge motivation to learn how to use the available tools effectively.

It might be that people are unaccustomed to falling markets, or because the negative associations make them nervous. This makes such market conditions great for those who know how to profit, as the competition is less, and may often be making losing trades. Knowing how to take benefit from all market conditions makes a trader really versatile, and means there is less pressure to take unnecessary risks.

Any serious trader should learn to trade options. Many people think of options as being extremely risky instruments, but the risk can be controlled. The amount of risk is determined by what the individual investor is comfortable with. This makes the options market very popular with sophisticated traders and volumes on these markets are high, with great trading opportunities presenting themselves all the time.

One way of limiting the risk on an option is to use spread trading. This involves two trades which act to hedge against the possibility of large losses, while still permitting a reasonable profit to be made. While profits are slightly lower, risks are greatly reduced, making the exercise very worthwhile. Using such techniques helps expert trader achieve steady gains.

Trading should not just be a straight gamble: here a professional approach will mean that you do not depend on always being right. Gamblers can easily become greedy and get wiped out as quickly as they build large fortunes. Not only that, but it is easy to splurge after a big win, leaving no reserve for the bad times. Gambling should be reserved for the race track or sports fields.

More experienced traders focus on controlling the risks, and are not lured by the hope of getting rich with one or two trades. They know that controlling greed is essential to long term trading survival. Learning to control your emotions is an important step, and avoiding the temptation of excessive gains helps to keep a level head.

Any investor who wishes to make a consistent living must learn how to control risk. You can never be right all the time, so the object is to minimize the inevitable losses. To do this you need understand how to trade in all market states, and have full understanding of the various types of trade, be it a bear put spread or a butterfly or any other type.




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