Risk Rewarded Blog
The latest investment strategies and insights from Markman Capital Insight. Helping investors get the most reward from every ounce of risk. The latest investment strategies and insights from Markman Capital Insight. Helping investors get the most reward from every ounce of risk.

How to Buy and Sell Stocks
To buy and sell stocks efficiently with our services, you will first need to open and fund an account at a brokerage. There are a dozen good discount brokerages, including Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, Etrade and ScotTrade. We like Interactive Brokers because its no-nonsense software platform is easy to use, customer service is good and commissions’...

How to Buy Call and Put Options
To trade options, you first need to request permission to buy "naked" calls and puts at your brokerage. This means you want to speculate on the direction of a security rather than hedge a current holding. Our recommendations will consist of four elements: A security (stock or ETF) name; the month and date of expiration; the strike price; the buy...

MCI Tradecraft: Setting "Limit on Close" Orders
Limit on close orders are very common in futures trading, particularly in the Gemini systems program that we license and distribute. LOC orders instruct traders to buy or short a contract only if it is in the recommended range in the final minute of the main daily trading session. The final minute -- 4:14 to 4:15 pm ET for equity index contracts --...

Pentagon Contractors Rev Their Engines
Now that there is a hint of war in the air again, Pentagon contractors in the iShares Aerospace/Defense (ITA) exchange traded fund are roaring back. If it weren’t for the persistent weakness of Boeing (BA), in fact, that fund — which performed so well last year — might be back at highs. It had been worrisome that the jet-fighter, aircraft carrier...

Gemini 252 snags 2.9% profit
Our futures programs Gemini 252 grabbed another quick profit out of the recent volatility, switching back to the long side of the market after a quick foray on the short side. The system bought one S&P 500 E-mini contract into the Portugal-related weakness on July 10 and July 13, and then sold into the Monday strength for a $650 gross profit, worth...

Midterm Elections and the Markets
Hedge fund veteran Craig Drill figures the most important impact of the 2012 midterms will be a boost in Pentagon spending. Once a quarter, we receive an investment update from Craig Drill, one of the old hands of the New York hedge fund world. Drill is not one of those flashy, fame-loving fund managers you see on Bloomberg or CNBC all the time....

Gemini SGX records 10.36% profit
Our futures program Gemini SGX completed its seventh trade sequence of the year on Monday, winning a 10.36% gain for its model $25k portfolio from the volatility of the Russell 2000 E-minis via seven contracts bought and sold over a 41-day stretch. The system is now up 58.4% this year net of subscription fee and commissions, vs. the -0.5% loss of the...

Gemini 252 Risks
CFTC Rule 4.41: Past results described in Gemini 252 may be based on simulated or hypothetical performance tests that have certain inherent limitations. Unlike the results shown in an actual performance record, these results do not represent actual trading. Also, because these trades have not actually been executed, these results may have under- or...