Stocks and Trading Thread - Channeling your inner Mono

[The Brain]

The Internet will make everyone rich. It's not just a fad.

[Admiral Yi]

Hey Abacus, got an options question for you.

I buy a call.  Stock price rises, I'm in the money.  I don't want the stock, so I sell the call to close out my position.

Does someone have to buy that call from me, or is it automatic?

[Habbaku]

If it's traded on the open market (I assume you have a broker? Or bought the option from an exchange?), then it's pretty much automatic, assuming I'm understanding your question correctly.

[Admiral Yi]

Second options trade today, this time covered calls on Square.

[Admiral Yi]

Second options trade today, this time covered calls on Square.

Price jumps 3 bucks today, call is way in the money, but counterparty doesn't call my shares.  Holding out for more upside? 

[Admiral Yi]

And now he's out of the money.  Suck on it, you greedhead.

Market not very happy today.

[Tamas]

In typical fashion, I had my tiny stock account in modest green until recently. Now the FTSE 100 ETF is quite set in the red, while the Bank of England decision has also switched my Lloyds to red.

This kinda' matters a bit because in a month or two I'll need to close the account because they'll start charging inactivity fees

[Ed Anger]

I dumped all stock in dollar store chains.

[Admiral Yi]

I dumped all stock in dollar store chains.

Do you mean you sold everything and put it all in stores for poors, or sold off everything you had in stores for poors?

Wish I could have gotten in on Dollar General.

[Ed Anger]

 

[Sophie Scholl]

I know the general agreement is that a President has little to no effect on what happens with the economy overall, but unilaterally passing potentially globally disastrous tariffs makes this an exception to the rule, no?  Am I "insanely naive" to think such a thing?

[Admiral Yi]

wut?

[jimmy olsen]

I know the general agreement is that a President has little to no effect on what happens with the economy overall, but unilaterally passing potentially globally disastrous tariffs makes this an exception to the rule, no?  Am I "insanely naive" to think such a thing?

You are correct

[DGuller]

I had a meeting with a bank financial adviser at my local Chase bank.  I came armed with skepticism, but I was willing to hear him out.  I do think that financial advisers at the bank can help you with some things, especially if you're not particularly knowledgeable in the messy details of personal finance, even if you have to swat away a pitch or two for the proprietary financial products. 

It did not go well. 

At the beginning, he recommended that I dump my prior company's stock in my 401k, because it under-performed the market in the last five years.  I asked him what the beta of my company stock was.  He said it had to be at least 2, since a single stock is so risky.     I told him that we must not be thinking of the same concept when we talk about betas.  Just to put his statement in context because he wouldn't, I looked it up on my phone and it was actually 0.60.     Yes, it under-performed the market, but with a beta like that it would be expected to in the last five years, I would think.  It is risky to own a single stock, but the problem is diversification, not poor performance.  He probably lost me right there and then, but I continued hearing him out.

He then recommended that I move my funds out of my target retirement funds, and have Chase actively manage them for me.  The fee would be higher than the expense ratio of the target retirement fund, but it would be worth it, because active management means that Chase would give me better returns and reduce my risk.  A whole bunch of numbers were thrown at me all throughout.

I asked him about my options if I didn't believe in active management.  He said that in that case, Chase is not for me.     I was coming to that conclusion myself.  He did try to convince me that I was stupid for not wanting to get all those extra returns, and grew increasingly agitated when I wasn't budging, and was wondering out loud what the hell I wanted from him if I wasn't interested in getting better returns.  I said I wanted diversification with passive management, and he kept trying to convince me that active management is what will accomplish that.  Eventually he conceded that maybe target retirement funds are the best option for what I'm looking for, and I shouldn't do anything differently.

I was aware of the stereotype of financial adviser at the bank, but I expected it to be hyperbolic, and that reality would be less cynical.  I would have to say that my meeting confirmed the stereotype to the fullest.

[Habbaku]

At the beginning, he recommended that I dump my prior company's stock in my 401k, because it under-performed the market in the last five years.  I asked him what the beta of my company stock was.  He said it had to be at least 2, since a single stock is so risky.   

Time to run away screaming.

He then recommended that I move my funds out of my target retirement funds

Danger! Danger!

and have Chase actively manage them for me.  The fee would be higher than the expense ratio of the target retirement fund, but it would be worth it, because active management means that Chase would give me better returns and reduce my risk.

Holy shit. You met the stereotype of salesman-not-advisor.

I was aware of the stereotype of financial adviser at the bank, but I expected it to be hyperbolic, and that reality would be less cynical.  I would have to say that my meeting confirmed the stereotype to the fullest.

You made the right decision.