14-5-1 for September grade B-

Fourteen winners, five losers, one breakeven for the September option cycle with a grade of B-. Another positive month, though the gains were modest. Short strangles were a dangerous strategy this month and I covered the short calls at major losses. To offset those losses, there were gains on layers of shorts puts.

As I wrote, earlier some call buyers made 5x to 10x their money this month. No home runs for me, and the hedging reduced returns. Still, another month in the green is a positive, and I covered the losers before they became nasty.

Going forward, all I have are short put positions. Changes in my schedule mean less time for the stock market. I'll still update, but there may be delays. Also October is often a dangerous month in the markets, so I often am more cautious this time of year. The historical record of September as the worst stock market month, so far has been opposite, with big gains this month. My favored strategies of selling puts or strangles suffers when premiums are low like they are now.

Long ALL BRKB EWG GLD IWM LGF XHB XRT
ALL Allstate Insurance
BRKB Berkshire Hathway B
EWG German stock ETF
GLD Gold ETF
IWM Russell 2000 ETF
LGF Lions Gate Entertainment
XHB Housing stock ETF
XRT Retail stock ETF

Other winners for September include short puts on AMGN Amgen, ESRX Express Scripts.