How to Protect Yourself in a Bear Market

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by Fred Fuld III

There are several strategies to make money in a bear market, some speculative, and some not so risky. Even smaller investors have ways to protect themselves, and even make money on the downside. We have had a strong stock market for the last eleven years, and many investors think that we are heading into a bear market. Here are several strategies to choose from.

1. Shorting Stocks

This is one of the most speculative ways of making money in a bear market. In simple terms, you make money when the stock goes down and you lose money when the stock goes up. What technically happens is that you borrow the shares and immediately sell them (this all is done electronically through your brokerage firm) and since you owe those shares, you eventually have to buy them back at some price, hopefully a lower price, in order to return those hares. The difference between your sale price and eventual purchase price is your profit (or loss, if you buy back at a higher price).

Can you make a lot of money shorting stocks in a bear market? Yes. Is it speculative? Very. Can you lose a lot? Most definitely. This is why it is so risky. When you short a stock, the lowest point it can drop to is zero. Whereas, if the stock goes up, the amount it can rise is unlimited. Let’s say you short 100 shares of a stock at $20 a share. If you put up funds equal to 100% of the value of the shorted amount, and the stock drops to zero, you’ve made a 100% return. However, suppose the stock goes from 20 to 100, you end up losing 400% of your money with lots of margin calls along the way. But even on a short term basis, an investor can lose money very fast.

So in summery, do I think you should short stocks? Absolutely not, unless you are a professional trader. The risk is unbelievable. If you understand options real well, hedged short selling might be OK, as long as you are an advanced trader, and know what you’re doing.

2. Short (Bearish) ETFs

An ETF appeared on the scene several years ago which has become very popular, a type of Exchange Traded Fund called the Bearish ETF or Short ETF. What these ETFs do is provide a return opposite to the return of the index, industry, or sector that it is tracking.

For example, the Short Dow30 ProShares (DOG) provides a return that is the inverse of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. If the Dow goes down 2%, the DOG goes up 2%. The Short QQQ ProShares (PSQ) ETF gives a return that is the inverse of the NASDAQ 100 Index. If you are bearish on gold, you can buy the PowerShares DB Gold Short ETN (DGZ) ETF.

The nice thing about these short ETFs is that your losses are limited. Also, if you are long individual stocks that you don’t want to sell, these can be good for protecting your portfolio on the downside.

3. Leveraged Bearish ETFs

If you like volatility, you will love the leveraged bearish ETFs. What these ETFs do is provide double, and in some cases triple the inverse return of indices.Some examples include the UltraShort Consumer Services ProShares (SCC) and the ProShares UltraShort S&P S&P 500 (SDS).

In addition there are several triple leveraged bearish ETFs. Direxion Daily MCSI Real Estate Bear 3X Shares (DRV), Direxion Daily Energy Bear 3X Shares (ERY), and ProShares UltraPro Short Russell 2000 (SRTY) are just a few of the many 3X bearish ETFs. Several more of these triple bearish ETFs can be found at WStNN.com.

The volatility of these things is substantial, and so are the wide bid and asked spreads that I’ve seen occasionally.

The advantage of these trading vehicles is that they are a way of shorting on margin, with a limit on the downside. The disadvantage is that the losses are quick and large, especially with the triple leverage short ETFs.

4. Bear Funds

It may be hard to believe, but there are actually a large number of bearish mutual funds for the long term bearish investors. These include the Grizzly Short Fund (GRZZX), the PIMCO StocksPlus TR Short Strategy Institutional Fund (PSTIX), and the ProFunds Bear Investors Fund (BRPIX). These funds have minimum investments ranging from $1,000 to $5,000,000.

5. Puts

First, a little about option pricing.  Puts and calls are priced on a per share basis, so a put at $1 would cost $100 for 100 shares, or a call at $3.50 would cost $350.

A put is the option to put your stock to someone at a particular price within a certain period of time. In other words, if you own a stock that is trading at 22 and you buy a put at a dollar which gives you the right to put your stock to someone at $20 per share within three months, there are a couple of things that could happen. The stock could tank to $14 a share and you could put your stock at 20, or just resell the put for 6 and collecting the profit. You would be far better off than just doing nothing. And if the stock goes up or stays about the same, you are just out your $100 for the option. Puts can be useful for experienced traders.

6. Cash

There is one other way to make money in a bear market. Sell everything, and keep your money in cash, with the safest way being a T-bill money market fund, that only owns T-bills. (Money market funds that invest in repos are supposed to be just as safe, but I consider them slightly more risky than T-bills.) The advantages are that you can’t lose money and you can receive an income from the investment.

The alternative cash investment is putting your money in a bank certificate of deposit or savings account. Your money is safe up to the FDIC limits, but the interest rate can be very low.

If we are in a bear market, hopefully you can protect your portfolio and make a little on the downside.

Author does not own any of the above mentioned securities.

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24 Ways to Make High Returns from a Stock Market Crash

Today, the stock market, as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, was down over 250 points. The Standard & Poor’s 500 was down almost 15 points, and the NASDAQ was down over five points. Walmart (WMT), a stock that has performed well over the past year, tanked by more than 10%today.

Is this a sign of things to come? If so, there are many ways to profit from a stock market crash without having to incur the unlimited risk or shorting stocks, and without having to buy puts with their own set of limitations.

Another way to play the short side of the stock market is to buy the triple leveraged bearish exchange traded funds. These ETFs provide triple the inverse return of indices. They are available for general market indices,  specific industries, and countries.

There are over two dozen triple leveraged bearish ETFs. They have significant volatility, and may have wide bid and asked spreads, and low volume. Plus, the losses can be quick and substantial. They ETFs are designed for short term trading, not long term holds.

Of course, the advantage of these trading vehicles is that they are a way of shorting various indexes without actually shorting an ETF, plus there is a limit on the downside.

One of the more actively traded triple bearish ETFs is the ProShares UltraPro Short Dow30 (SDOW). The average daily volume is 1.3  million shares and the ETF was up 3.16% for the day.

In terms of industries, you have such 3X bear ETFs as the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X ETF (SOXS) and the Direxion Daily Energy Bear 3X ETF (ERY).

To access a free list of over two dozen of these investments, go to triple leveraged bearish ETFs.

5 Ways to Protect Yourself in a Bear Market

Don't be the fish

Disney (DIS) is down 19% in the last two and a half weeks. Just in the last month, Apple (AAPL) tanked 15%. Twitter (TWTR) puked over 27% in the same time frame. If this scares you and you believe we are entering a bear market, there are ways to protect yourself.

There are actually several ways to protect yourself and even make money from a stock market that is going down. Here is a list of five ways to trade during a period of falling stocks.

Short Stocks 

1. You can short stocks. If you have never shorted a stock before, this is what happens in simple terms. You borrow stock, you sell the stock, and eventually you have to buy the stock back eventually to return the stock that was borrowed. Traders should be aware though that the potential loss from selling short is unlimited.

Buy Put Options 

2. You can buy put options to protect stocks that you currently own, or just as a trade on a stock you believe is going to drop. A put is the right to sell a stock at a certain price within a set period of time.

Here is an example. A stock is trading at 50, you buy a put with a strike price of 49. The strike price is the price at which you can put the stock to someone. You pay 1 for the option. If the stock drops to 45, your one dollar option increases to at least 4 (the difference between the 49 and the 45). If the stock closes at 49 or higher, then the option expires worthless.

Writing Covered Calls

3. Writing calls against your stocks is one way to help protect your portfolio on the downside. Maybe you don't want to sell out of you stock positions, but you want some way to help reduce the loss on the downside. You can write covered calls. There is the chance that your stock could get called away if the stock starts to rally, but it just means that you made money on the transaction.

An example would be if the stock sells at 50 and you write a call with a strike price of 51 for 1, if the stock remains at the same price at option expiration, you make 1 per share. If the stock goes up to 53, you will get called away at 51 making 1 on the stock plus you collect another 1 for the sold option, for a total profit of 2. If the stock drops to 47, you lose 3 on the stock but you make 1 on the sold call for a net loss on 2. Without the written call, your net loss would be 3 on the stock.

Bearish ETFs 

4. Bearish exchange traded funds, also known as Bearish ETFs are investments that have a goal of providing the daily inverse of a stock index. The bearish ETFs are very volatile investments that are designed for short term trading, and not as long term investments. They achieve their performance through the use of various financial instruments including futures contracts, options,  collars, swap agreements, short positions, and other derivatives.

Double and Triple Bearish ETFs 

5. Double and triple bearish ETFs can provide a 200% or 300% opposite return of a sector or market. Listed at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com are over a dozen commonly traded triple bearish ETFs which investors can use to get a 300% play.

An example is the Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares ETF (SPXS), which happens to be up 4% today. This ETF has the goal of making 300% of the inverse of the performance of the S&P 500. What that means is, if the S&P 500 drops 2% in one day, the ETF should go up in value by 6%. Alternatively, if the S&P 500 rises by 2%, the ETF should drop by 6%, which would be a significant loss.

Investors can be more specific in terms of what sectors will drop, or will drop the most. If you think energy stocks will tank, you could buy the Daily Energy Bear 3X Shares ETF (ERY), which attempts to track 300% of the inverse of the Energy Select Sector Index. For financial services companies, an option is the Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ETF (FAZ).

For those that are bearish on gold, a triple bearish gold ETF called the Daily Gold Miners Bear 3X Shares ETF (DUST) is available. The ETF's objective is to make 300% of the opposite of the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index.

For a free list of the most commonly traded triple bearish ETFs which can be downloaded, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author has positions in DIS, AAPL, and TWTR.

By Stockerblog.com

Four Ways to Make Money in a Bear Market

Don't be the fish

If you think we are in for a stock market crash or at least a major correction, you are probably looking for a way to make money from a falling stock market. Here are a few ways.

Short Stocks

1. You can short stocks, however, the potential loss is unlimited.

Buy Put Options

2. You can buy put options. A put is the right to sell a stock at a particular price within a certain period of time. The issue with these is that they can have a fast approaching expiration, and if they aren't in-the-money at the time of expiration, it will result in an entire loss of the investment. Plus, for novice investors, options may be difficult to understand.

Bearish ETFs

3. So what is left? Bearish exchange traded funds, also known as Bearish ETFs. These are investments that have a goal of providing the daily inverse of a stock index. Some of these ETFs have an objective of 100% of the reverse performance. These are extremely volatile investments that are designed for short term trades, not long term investments. They achieve their performance through the use of various financial instruments including futures contracts, options, equity caps, collars, floors, swap agreements, short positions, and reverse repurchase agreements.
 

Double and Triple Bearish ETFs 

4. Double and triple bearish ETFs can multiply your profits (or losses) which can provide a 200% or 300% opposite return of the market. According to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are over a dozen commonly traded triple bearish ETFs available for investors.

One popular one is the Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares ETF (SPXS), which attempts to produce 300% of the inverse of the performance of the S&P 500. In other words, if the S&P 500 drops 2% in one day, the ETF should go up in value by 6%. Of course, if the S&P 500 rises by 2%, the ETF will drop by 6%, a significant loss. So it is worth repeating, these are extremely risky investments.

Investors can be more specific in terms of what sectors will drop, or will drop the most. For example, suppose you think energy stocks will tank. There is the Daily Energy Bear 3X Shares ETF (ERY), which attempts to track 300% of the inverse of the Energy Select Sector Index. Think bank and financial services companies are overpriced and due for a drop? There is the Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ETF (FAZ).

There is even a triple bearish gold ETF called the Daily Gold Miners Bear 3X Shares ETF (DUST), with an interesting stock symbol. Its objective is to produce 300% of the opposite of the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index.

For a free list of the most commonly traded triple bearish ETFs which can be downloaded, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.
 
By Stockerblog.com

25 Year Anniversary of Stock Market Crash: Dow Drops 205 NASDAQ Drops 67

Today is the 25th Anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash. Is today a repeat of history. At least today's drop wasn't as bad. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tanked by 205 points or 1.5% and the NASDAQ went down by 67 points or about 2.2%. This is the biggest drop in about four months.

Did anyone read the article from Sunday, October 14, on How to Speculate on a Market Drop Without Options or Shorting? The article described the Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares ETF (SPXS), which was up 5.1% today. The Direxion Daily Energy Bear 3X Shares (ERY) was up 4.5% today.

As for the popular stocks, Google was down 74 points in the last two days due to missing estimates on revenues and a substantial drop in earnings per share. Apple (AAPL) fell over 22 points today. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) was off by about 43 points, or 15%.

Disclosure: Author owns AAPL.

By Stockerblog.com

How to Speculate on a Market Drop Without Options or Shorting

Investors who may be anticipating an October stock market crash have a few options. One way is to short the market, however, the potential loss is unlimited. Another way is to buy put options. However, these have fast approaching expirations, and if they aren't in-the-money at the time of expiration, it will result in an entire loss of the investment. Plus, for novice investors, options may be difficult to understand.
So what is left? Bearish exchange traded funds, also known as Bearish ETFs. These are investments that have a goal of providing the daily inverse of a stock index. Some of these ETFs have an objective of 100% of the reverse performance, and some can provide a 300% opposite return. These are extremely volatile investments that are designed for short term trades, not long term investments. They achieve their performance through the use of various financial instruments including futures contracts, options, equity caps, collars, floors, swap agreements, short positions, and reverse repurchase agreements.
According to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are over a dozen commonly traded triple bearish ETFs available for investors. One popular one is the Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares ETF (SPXS), which attempts to produce 300% of the inverse of the performance of the S&P 500. In other words, if the S&P 500 drops 2% in one day, the ETF should drop 6%. Of course, if the S&P 500 rises by 2%, the ETF will drop by 6%, a significant loss. So it is worth repeating, there are extremely risky investments.
Investors can be more specific in terms of what sectors will drop, or will drop the most. For example, suppose you think energy stocks will tank. There is the Daily Energy Bear 3X Shares ETF (ERY), which attempts to track 300% of the inverse of the Energy Select Sector Index. Think bank and financial services companies are overpriced and due for a drop? There is the Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ETF (FAZ).
There is even a triple bearish gold ETF called the Daily Gold Miners Bear 3X Shares ETF (DUST). Take a look at its stock ticker symbol! It's objective is to produce 300% of the opposite of the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index.
For a free list of the most commonly traded triple bearish ETFs which can be downloaded, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.
Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.
By Stockerblog.com