November 2012 Results

For all intents and purposes, November was a month where the Rescue My IRA made its numbers – even though I wouldn’t have expected that when the month began, on the heels of Superstorm Sandy and the election that foretold a potential change in the administration.  I expected a pretty bad month in the market, as a matter of fact; however, my statement value on the account is up nearly $2K. 

One of the covered calls was assigned last month – for F.  That was a position I had designed for a quick turnaround and was successful, as I posted earlier in November when the call was assigned. 

Scottrade surely loves me, as I executed 26 BTCs and STOs last month on my way to generating net call premiums of $948.  Some months are like that – although I would hope that when I come close to meeting my goal of 1% in income per month like this, the account value at the end of the year would show it also.  I need to do some more reading up on this in order to evaluate the account’s performance for the year.

It’s likely that some mistakes contributed to this phenomenon – who am I to think I wouldn’t make a few over the course of a year?  I’ve written previously about ADM and ACM – two stocks that cost me some gains last year; now I have HPQ on my hands.

Admittedly, I rushed into this investment (one lesson learned here is not to rush again, my proceeds from the F assignment are still sitting on the sidelines), and bought an S&P 3-star stock with a great brand name.  Then we saw poor financial results and the shares took a hit.  Now we hear that they made a bad acquisition last year, taking an earnings charge this year and having to make up for it in future quarters. 

That stock is going to take some time to recover – I’ve worked hard to try and stay above water on it, but the time has come to take action.  I sold a Dec 12 last month, a last effort to pick up a little cash, I am going to let the stock be called away with a capital loss by the end of the month.  Countering that, I have two positions that look to be ITM on options day – ITW and SWK, both good news stories.

So, here are the statistics for November 2012:

Account Status:

·         Total Account Value, 11/1/2012 Statement:  $129,584.26

·         Total Cash Reserve, 11/1/2012 Statement:  $11,737.76

·         Core Stock Positions (as of 12/1/2012):   CAT (100 shares), CSCO (400 shares), CSX (500 shares), DOW (300 shares), GLW (700 shares), HAL (300 shares), HPQ (400 shares), ITW (200 shares), MSFT (300 shares), SWK (100 shares), SPLS (700 shares), URS (400 shares), WAG (300 shares)

Performance Metrics:
Option Premiums Collected (net, month of October):  $947.45
Capital Gains Collected (net, month of October): -$39.61

Dividends Collected (recognized on the ex-date): $311.50
Interest on Cash Reserve (total): $0.08
Total, Absolute Return:  $1,219.42
Absolute Return, Percentage Basis:  0.96%
Annualized Return, Percentage Basis:  11.63%

Next Month To-dos:

As a dividend month, December is quite busy, like September.  Seven positions are forecast to go ex-dividend this month, although two or three of them are likely to be called away:  DOW, HAL, HPQ, ITW, SPLS, SWK, and URS. ITW and HPQ are in the money today, and SWK is close.

If these shares are assigned, I will have in excess of $10K to reinvest, and will have some decisions to make later in the month.  I’m looking forward to it, and will keep you posted!