Portfolio Diary

Recap & Current Positioning - March Madness 2019

Mar 21, 2019

It's the Thursday that kicks off March Madness 2019 and I haven't updated this page in over 2 years! In that time, our son was born. We travelled to 22 states in 6 months in our RV. Heck, we bought an RV! We came home. And have now been adjusting to "normal" life for 9 months! So you can mostly ignore any stock picks before this post. The general ideas about investing remain the same. I'm hunting for great income investments, quick trades, and still LOVE utilities, YieldCos, and REITs. 2018
BUY: InfraREIT - HIFR

Feb 24, 2017

I've followed InfraREIT (HIFR) since their IPO. The company is a "wires only" utility in Texas that was established by the Hunt Family. They were able to set up the utility as a REIT, which saved on taxes. It's a unique structure that has one major risk - regulators may not allow the company to collect but not pay taxes. The company is in the midst of a rate case, which means the tax risk is heightened. The stock is also down off of its highs and hasn't kept up with either utilities or REITs. I
Shorting the Market Every Day

Feb 22, 2017

I've been buying puts on SPY almost daily for the past two weeks. I think the market is overvalued and am trying to do two things: 1) Hedge the rest of my portfolio without actually selling. 2) Make some money on a trade that feels right. The markets have been up almost daily. Not only that, but they seem to strengthen as the day goes on. I realize that those two things should be positive signs. It's bullish to have daily strength and higher highs. I don't know when I'll stop buying puts on
Buying Volatility Ahead of Trump's Inauguration

Jan 20, 2017

I think the market is due for a correction. I also think volatility is FAR too low. It's been at historic lows for quite some time. I've traded volatility a bit since Thanksgiving and the time has come again to get long volatility through the ETF VXX. I bought 500 shares for $21.11 and bought 5 call option contracts expiring 1/27/2017 with a $21.50 strike price for $0.72. These two transactions give me exposure to 1,000 shares of VXX with a breakeven price of about $21.16. The options expire