Mastering Options Trading with Confidence: A Comprehensive Review of MoneyWiseSmart's Options Series Silver
- Rupam Deb
- Jul 23, 2023
- 13 min read
Although we’ve designed the program based on our own investing philosophy, we’ll try our best to be unbiased in our MoneyWiseSmart Option Series review. From the price to the exact modules and case studies, we’ll reveal it all so you can decide if it’s worth the investment.
Option Series Review: At A Glance
Option Series: Silver is a course that teaches investors how to generate cash flow and capital growth through uncommon but very easy to implement option strategies. Over the years, we’ve updated it with actual positions based on the various market conditions that have come our way.
Option Series: Silver is suitable for beginner to intermediate investors. You’ll get to learn the basics terms (what are calls and puts), option Greeks and a full range of option strategies that can be used in a simple way, or adjusted based on your skill level.
The unique strategies are designed to work regardless of market conditions. Once you understand how options truly work, you’ll be able to generate cash flows during bull, bear and even sideway markets…to make the most of Mr Market’s violent mood swings!
While these strategies can work wonderfully on their own, Option Series combines these strategies with long-term investing. Our goal isn’t to simply generate cash, but to use that cash to help us compound our wealth over the long term.
Option Series strategies are deployed in a low-risk manner. We are not concerned with speculating on the direction which an underlying moves. Instead, we are primarily focused on generating cash through selling premiums.
There is a consistent, month-on-month track record of positive cash flow. While the portfolio market-value keeps fluctuating with the mood swings of Mr. Market, our ‘cash flow tap’ always stays open. The best part is, the flow increases during times of market corrections…this puts our subscribers in a very advantageous position.
A lifetime subscription to Option Series: Silver is $3,499. Given the breadth and depth of content, the course remains undervalued, especially when the case studies, community support and Zoom tutorials are taken into account.
Option Series Review: Curriculum
The Option Series curriculum is a video course with content that spans across years. This means you’ll get to see how the same strategy can be applied in different market conditions, alongside a focus on timeless strategies.
The curriculum consists of several key modules:
A replay of a 3-day Special Beginners’ Weekend. This is for you if you are completely new to options and need to get back up to speed. While some education providers make this the core of their entire program, a “weekend” class is only the starting point for us.
An example of what is taught in the 3-day Beginners Weekend.
7-part Option Basics module. These are the building blocks for the next steps in your option journey. Apart from all the fundamental concepts of options, these videos also explain how you can easily start applying options in your investing strategies over time even if you’re busy with work and taking care of children.
An outline of the Options Basics module (every video is more than one hour long). This ensures we cover all necessary concepts in great detail, and don’t just provide you superficial content like what most other trainers do.
How to think about options the way Warren Buffett does. This is the core of what we do at MoneyWiseSmart and is completely different from any option trading strategies. We teach how options can be used from the point of view of long term investing taking advantage of the ‘Time Value of Money’, without any kind of silly market speculation. .
The “nuts-and-bolts” of options. You’ll discover more about the option Greeks, bid-ask spreads and payoff diagrams, along with understanding how interest rates can help you or work against you. Most investors fail to understand these nuances, causing them to lose a huge amount of capital over time on their “ignorance tax”.
Actual case studies. You’ll see what we teach get applied to various businesses using accurate data from our backtesting software. Some of these positions reflect our actual positions at that point of time!
Regular tutorial recordings. This is where new strategies and our performance are being updated, allowing the course to stay relevant as the market conditions change.
Benefits of Option Series
Through being an Option Series subscriber, you’ll be able to:
Use options to fund your long term investments. You’ll notice new ways to position yourself to be able to acquire more shares of your chosen businesses at attractive prices, during any periods of market corrections. As a result, our Option Series program subscribers do not fear market corrections, but welcome them.
Deploy a large number of short-term cash flow generating strategies that can enhance your returns. You’ll discover little known ways to generate an attractive yield on your cash, while waiting to deploy that cash into suitable opportunities.
Potentially generate explosive profits by risking very small amounts of capital and very low risk. These strategies are explained through actual case-studies that explain step-by-step, option strategies that we have ourselves deployed over the years and will be executing going forward.
Option Series Review: Philosophy
Unlike most option courses which teach trading strategies, the MoneyWiseSmart Option Series course is designed to complement our long-term investing strategy by generating the cash flow needed to purchase high quality businesses.
This is absolutely essential to what we do, and it is inspired by one paragraph in Warren Buffett’s 2008 shareholder letter. The paragraph is reproduced below:
“Our derivatives dealings require our counterparties to make payments to us when contracts are initiated. Berkshire therefore always holds the money, which leaves us assuming no meaningful counterparty risk. As of year end, the payments made to us less losses we have paid – our derivatives “float,” so to speak – totaled 8.1 billion. This float is similar to insurance float: If we break even on an underlying transaction, we will have enjoyed the use of free money for a long time. Our expectation, though it is far from a sure thing, is that we will do better than break even and that the substantial investment income we earn on the funds will be frosting on the cake.”
If you’re reading this for the first time, it might be hard to fully appreciate the strategy behind what Mr. Buffett is saying. In effect, Berkshire Hathaway uses options to replicate the business model of insurance companies.
Insurance companies collect premiums from their customers and invest their premiums into income-generating assets. Eventually, some of these customers will make claims which the company has to pay.
However, along with disciplined underwriting, the key to a profitable insurance business model lies in the time lapse between the collection of premiums and payout of claims.
Instead of trying to speculate on price movements like what short term traders do, our focus is on generating “float” that is available to us for investing in our long term portfolio of high quality businesses.
And most importantly, instead of looking at options as just a standalone ‘trading’ strategy, we show you how everything (options as well as long term investment portfolio) can be integrated together to create a seamless investment framework that builds wealth.
Option Series Review: Track Record
Ever since December 2021, the MoneyWiseSmart team has personally used the Option Series strategies to consistently generate cash flow for ourselves. Our results can be seen in the screenshots below. The good news does not end there. Just because we were able to invest the $936K, funded by our option strategies, at the most opportune moment of market correction (when the S&P 500 : the red line, was in a drawdown) , the value of that portfolio has now jumped to over 1.23M (at the time of this writing)…i.e over 31% in less than a year. This is money which we would not have without the Option Strategies.
The story continues unabated in 2023 as well, as can be seen from the screenshot below:
Option Series Review: Strategies
Most short-term minded option traders are completely unaware of the ‘risks’ of using options. They end up with long periods of bliss, giving them the false sense of ‘super-stardom’, and then eventually get wiped out by a single black swan event. This happened to a lot of people during the Covid-19 corrections.
Another very common error inexperienced investors/option traders often make is they blindly close long option positions by selling it (when selling may not be the most optimal course of action), leaving a lot of money on the table. There are times when exercising the option and closing the underlying stock position could be more optimal.
These are just some very common mistakes most people make without understanding the adverse long term impact on their portfolios. However, when used in the right way, options on can be very versatile instruments that can be elegantly incorporated as part of any long term investment strategy, significantly boosting returns.
In Option Series, we go through specific case studies on how option strategies can be used to generate cash flow or capital growth in multiple market conditions. Some of the strategies we cover are shown below:
Special opportunities: JMIA, Gamestop
When the whole ‘speculating world’ (of wallstreetbets) was going crazy buying Gamestop shares, stupidly expecting it to ‘go to da moon’… we ran our subscribers through and analysis of the gamestop balance sheet, and demonstrated to them how selling the $2 strike (cash secured) PUTs can deliver them a hefty return on their capital, almost risk-free. This is just one example of special situations we take advantage of from time to time.
Some screenshots of other such very profitable special situations below:
LEAP call strategy (ETF)
Recovering losses: (Insperity, JD)
Option Series Review: Advantages
Through the Option Series course, investors can gain the following benefits, provided they deeply internalise the concepts taught and approach this without a “get rich quick” attitude.
Maximising Returns: Unlocking the Potential
When implemented correctly over the long term, the Option Series course offers a valuable pathway for investors to potentially compound their portfolio. Through comprehensive learning modules and practical examples, participants gain a deep understanding of options strategies designed to generate consistent cash flow.
Managing Risk: Preserving Capital
Effective risk management is a top priority for investors, and our strategies in Option Series are built around this critical aspect. From understanding risk metrics like the Greeks to adjusting option positions, the course provides a solid foundation for capital preservation.
Flexibility and Adaptability: Navigating Market Conditions
As the market conditions continually evolve, investors need a wider range of strategies that offer flexibility and adaptability. Option Series teaches subscribers how to adjust their positions and optimise cashflow generating strategies in response to changing market conditions.
Efficient Capital Utilisation: Doing More with Less
Subscribers also learn how to structure positions to gain exposure to more assets or positions while managing their capital effectively. In one of our tutorials, we showed our subscribers how they can generate better returns on the cash sitting in their brokerage account when stock prices were overvalued.
Community and Support: Learning and Networking
Finally, investing doesn’t have to be a solitary journey. The Option Series course fosters a supportive community of investors eager to learn and share knowledge. Subscribers gain access to a WhatsApp and Facebook group where they can engage in discussions, exchange ideas, and learn from more experienced subscribers.
Option Series Review: Testimonials
Here is what our subscribers say after going through the course:
“The MOST comprehensive options course I have ever come across”
“The Option Series program offered by Money Wise Smart has been the MOST comprehensive options course I have ever come across. What differentiates the Option Series program from other programs I came across is the focus on the First Principles of investing which sets up the students for long term success instead of just chasing speculative short term trades that are highly destructive to wealth accumulation in the long run. I personally find that the course fee is severely undervalued because I have made more than 10x what I paid in the first 2 months of spending the time and effort to learn the timeless investing concepts from the Option Series program. I highly recommend serious investors to join this program and benefit from the ongoing community we have here and accelerate your investing journey.”
– Kelvin Soh, Singapore
“Many interesting strategies that have made me great returns”
“Prior to joining the Money Wise Smart options series, I had taken a course with an overseas options ‘expert’. His strategy was to generate regular cash flow through trading options on range bound stocks using stop loss and stop limit. Very soon, I got into trouble because I had a weak foundation and did not understand that I was engaging in trading behaviour and not investing. When one of my trades went badly wrong, I took my losses and quit options, concluding that it is one of those speculative strategies and wasn’t suitable for me.
10 years passed, and the MWS options series was recommended to me by members of an investing community which I am part of. With the many positive reviews from those who had attended the course, I decided to give options another try. Boy, I was blown away.
Now I would say with strong conviction that Money Wise Smart is one of the best courses I have attended in the world of Investing. Rupam’s approach is systematic, conservative, low risk and always having the long term goal of growing one’s portfolio in mind. Through his course, I learned many interesting strategies that have made me great returns which I didn’t know were possible. This has greatly accelerated my portfolio growth. I highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in using options to enhance their portfolio growth.”
– Priscilla Soh, Singapore
“Goes beyond and teaches the principles behind each position”
“This is Wei Zhou. I have joined the Option Series course for a while now and I must say it has been a wonderful learning experience. Rupam is an amazing tutor with a wealth of experience. Most online option coaches would share a set of fixed strategies and how to implement them. However, Rupam goes beyond and teaches the principles behind each position. He adopts a long-term view towards consistent wealth generation rather than short-term wins. This ensures we are equipped with the knowledge to not only carry out the strategies but to modify them to best suit the situation.
This is a highly undervalued course that I wish I had joined earlier. The post-course support, regular tutorials, and case studies are really helpful in my investment journey.
I managed to recover the initial course fees within a short period of time and am confident that the skills I’ve learned will benefit me for the rest of my life. I highly encourage everyone who has investable cash to join the course and take an active step towards wealth generation.
Cheers and see you in the community!”
– Loh Wei Zhou, Singapore
“Fund this new investment via selling options safely”
“My name is TK Teoh.
I have known Rupam and Fun Liang for many years, I respect both of them a lot and we used to have an investment study once a month back in 2017 together. The amount of research they did for a company is amazing and very in-depth in quantitative. Rupam’s years of experience working in the corporate world, also make him good in the company’s founders/CEO qualitative research. When I first heard Rupam and Fun Liang opening up classes for options, I did not hesitate at all, signed up for Diamond members (the highest level), because I know the value I will get from their course can easily recover the course fees.
Option cash flow strategy has solved the one problem I have, which is whenever I uncover an interesting company that could be the next multi-baggers, I always need to think about which company to liquidate to fund the new purchases. But now I can generate income and fund this new investment via selling options safely.
I benefited a lot from the MoneyWiseSmart Team option course. I encourage you all to join.”
– TK Teoh, Singapore
“A systemic approach on how to use options strategies”
“The option series program by MWS is easy to follow where Rupam breaks down all the key concepts in his videos, coupled with actual case studies on how to apply these concepts in real life.
In the course, Rupam teaches you a systemic approach on how to use options strategies to enhance the return of your long term positions that you could replicate again and again. Rupam also teaches you the right way to think like a long term investor and incorporate that into this course. One thing I like about the course is that these concepts are repeatedly mentioned throughout the course to make sure they stick with you. There is no blindly following the “rules of thumb” without knowing the rationale behind.
There are a lot of brilliant minds in the community like Fun Liang, Vaibhav and many more who are very willing to share their thoughts and help each other improve. The support system is simply amazing.
I highly recommend this course to anyone who is committed and ready to learn it the right way!”
– Yong Perng Tan, Singapore
Option Series Review: Drawbacks
However, the Option Series program does not include the following:
No Short Term Intraday Trades
Unlike many other courses that focus on short-term intraday trading, this options course takes a different approach. It recognizes that successful investing requires a strategic and disciplined mindset. The program shows how options can be used to complement this long term investing process.
By not getting caught up in the volatility of intraday trading (which is basically speculation), participants can learn how to build a solid foundation for sustainable and consistent cash flow generation.
No Technical Analysis
While technical analysis is a popular tool in trading, this options course emphasises a fundamental-based approach. Instead, subscribers are taught a deep understanding of the underlying fundamentals that drive intrinsic value growth and options pricing.
By focusing on fundamental analysis, investors can make more informed decisions and build a solid investment strategy.
No “Copy Trading”
In contrast to courses that promote “copy trading” or blindly following the trades of others, this options course encourages independent thinking and decision-making. The focus is on understanding first principles. It provides participants with the knowledge and tools to develop their own strategies and adapt them to their unique investment goals while completely managing risks.
Option Series Review: Who It’s For
The Option Series program by MoneyWiseSmart is for long term investors who are looking for a strategic, fundamental-based approach to investing. OS provides some additional tools and strategies that are completely aligned to this approach .
This course is NOT for you if:
You’re looking for quick trade recommendations based technical analysis and short term market price predictions
You’re a short term thinker, expecting to make money overnight, so that you can go and brag about your winning trade on social media
This course is for you if:
If you think like a long term investor and want to grow truly wealthy
You’re committed to taking full control of your investing journey towards financial freedom
You’d like to feel confident and understand the right principles of investing
You are ready to commit the time to work towards getting rich, and not expect it to happen through any ‘overnight miracles’
Final Take on the Option Series Silver Review
While the Option Series program can potentially generate excellent results, it does require a commitment of some time and effort to understand the intricacies of options as a financial instrument. The course also covers a wide range of strategies that can be used across different market conditions and businesses.
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