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Thread: Anybody Else Feel Poorer Today

  1. #27


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    Quote Originally Posted by DSchles View Post
    Fair enough. Here's a little background from outside the blackjack word.

    Donald Schlesinger is the President of Demand Derivatives Corp.Prior to the merging of the individual product companies under the DDC corporate umbrella, he was instrumental in directing the companies separately.
    Donald Schlesinger was the Vice Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer of The VolX Group Corporation and RealDay Options Corporation — after a period of semi-retirement. Before this he was an Executive Director in Morgan Stanley Dean Witter’s Worldwide Equity Derivatives department. As the Director of Derivatives Education and Training, some of Don’s responsibilities included the creation, supervision, and delivery of in-house programs, as well as educational seminars for clients. In 1993, Don helped establish and perfect risk-management techniques and systems for global equity derivatives traders at the firm. Schlesinger was a member of the Institutional Equity Division’s derivatives risk-management committee and served as a liaison between that unit and the firm’s head of global risk management.
    Prior to assuming these roles, he was a Proprietary Trader and Options Strategist at Morgan Stanley, from 1984 to 1994, where he managed the firm’s domestic over-the-counter options book and priced structured products for clients. Schlesinger has lectured extensively on options theory and hedging techniques, having participated in many industry-sponsored events, and has written numerous published papers and articles on options strategies. Among them are: “Options Alphabet Soup,” “Looking Askew at Volatility,” “Hedging First- and Second-Order Sensitivities of Options” (“Learning Curve” article in Derivatives Week), “Volatility Cones Come in Many Flavors” (co-authored with Robert Krause, for Futures Magazine), “Hedging Imperfect Baskets” (co-authored with Robert Krause, for Derivatives Strategy magazine), and “Volatility Trading: RealVol futures Jump into the Mix” (co-authored with Robert Krause, for Swiss Derivatives Review).
    In 1996, Don was part of the third-place “All-America Research Team,” named by Institutional Investor, which commented: “The group’s ‘top notch’ educational seminars, under the direction of Donald Schlesinger, demystify derivatives, according to a participant.” In 1991–92, Schlesinger was the featured speaker in over 100 presentations of Morgan Stanley’s PERCS product to institutional clients in the U.S. and Europe.
    Since leaving the firm, Don has continued to lecture at Morgan Stanley, and has also done training and presentations for Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse First Boston, the Options Industry Council, and Electronic Trading Group.
    As a former teacher in the New York City school system, Schlesinger taught high school-level mathematics and French for 16 years. He holds Master of Philosophy and M.A. degrees in French from the City University of New York, and a B.S. in mathematics, cum laude, from The City College of New York.
    That's hilarious ha ha and I'm giving you a link to elementary options trading strategies. I promise no more recommendations on trading books ha ha. I swear I had no idea, I'll just claim ignorance. You did confirm I'm glad I made the decision to learn from this forum.

  2. #28


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    Don,

    Is there any video or audio of your lectures floating around by any chance?

  3. #29


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    Quote Originally Posted by UncleChoo View Post
    Don,

    Is there any video or audio of your lectures floating around by any chance?
    Everything was taped internally at MS, so that they could be shown at the various branch offices around the world, which I couldn't always get to. But, they were never made accessible to outsiders. Each of three conferences had about seven hours of material. Really some good stuff. I miss it.

    Don

  4. #30


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    Quote Originally Posted by drunk View Post
    .................................................. ..................

    Don, I'm curious if I might ask - as a Proprietary Trader and Options Strategist at Morgan Stanley did you have a set goal for your trading?

    for example did you aim for a yearly return of 30%?

    or did you aim to beat the S&P by 15%?

    how did you and others trading options there measure your performance for the year?



    thanks
    No, nothing like that. Never had the slightest idea what requirements were for taking the positions we did. Everything was handled by the back office. So, there was no notion of a ROI or ROE. We did primarily index options and futures (arbitrage) trading. Just sat there all day, doing absolutely anything I wanted to, trying to make money in as a responsible way as possible. Each trader had his own book and, therefore, his own personal P&L that contributed to the group's overall P&L. Marked to market everyday, meaning you made or lost REAL money every day, contrary to what you discussed above.

    At the end of the year, you had a bottom line. I never had close to a losing year. We made millions. The simple secret to options is selling them. It's what all the pros do. I used to have a motto: The only thing you ever ought to do with an option is sell it or don't sell it! For the most part, I sold strangles, but of course fooled around with all different kinds of spreads -- always hedged. Rarely had a directional opinion.

    Anyway, because of my former background as a teacher, I eventually left the desk to become director of worldwide equity derivatives training and education. And I traveled all over the world delivering the conferences. Exciting times!

    Don

  5. #31


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    Don - Since you mentioned selling options, you were doing short strangles?

    And if you don't mind me asking, do you sell options for your personal account nowadays?
    Last edited by 21forme; 08-06-2019 at 01:27 PM.

  6. #32


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    Quote Originally Posted by 21forme View Post
    Don - Since you mentioned selling options, you were doing short strangles?
    Yes. I wrote above: For the most part, I sold strangles."

    Quote Originally Posted by 21forme View Post
    And if you don't mind me asking, do you sell options for your personal account nowadays?
    No. I don't have the time or the patience to watch them all day long. When you're naked short options, it can be risky to go to the bathroom. Traded 6 1/2 hours a day, 227 days a year for 10 years. When I retired, the last thing I wanted to do was trade options!

    Don

  7. #33


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    Quote Originally Posted by DSchles View Post
    When you're naked short options, it can be risky to go to the bathroom.
    Good summation and funny!

  8. #34


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    Quote Originally Posted by DSchles View Post
    When you're naked short options, it can be risky to go to the bathroom.

    Don
    After all, one could expose their short comings.

  9. #35


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    Should have bought on the dip - where else are people going to put their money? The US stock market will remain hot...best economy in the world and will continue to grow.

  10. #36


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    Quote Originally Posted by Bigdaddy View Post
    Should have bought on the dip - where else are people going to put their money? The US stock market will remain hot...best economy in the world and will continue to grow.
    Why Bitcoin of course! J/K

    Anybody trade that? Half-ass paying attention to the price action it looks like a very manipulated market. I was reading something like less than 200 people control 80% of the market (not saying I necessarily believe this, have no clue).
    I made a trade a couple years ago and wasn't to thrilled with the experience. The time for the trade to execute was ridiculous and the round trip fees were even more ridiculous. I have a feeling the whole asset is a constant pump
    and dump scheme. With a handful of people controlling the levers manipulating price and volume, using wash trading, while small time people everywhere get suckered in for the ride lining a select few's pockets.

  11. #37


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    Quote Originally Posted by UncleChoo View Post
    Why Bitcoin of course! J/K

    Anybody trade that? Half-ass paying attention to the price action it looks like a very manipulated market. I was reading something like less than 200 people control 80% of the market (not saying I necessarily believe this, have no clue).
    I made a trade a couple years ago and wasn't to thrilled with the experience. The time for the trade to execute was ridiculous and the round trip fees were even more ridiculous. I have a feeling the whole asset is a constant pump
    and dump scheme. With a handful of people controlling the levers manipulating price and volume, using wash trading, while small time people everywhere get suckered in for the ride lining a select few's pockets.
    Lol, the Bitcoin market is more fake than you can imagine! Stay far away!

  12. #38


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    Quote Originally Posted by refinery View Post
    Lol, the Bitcoin market is more fake than you can imagine! Stay far away!
    Plus +1

  13. #39


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    Anybody take advantage of the dead cat bounce we had the last few days to get out of the market. Worst day yet this year and now we have an inverted yield curve which is never a good sign.

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