One more question (maybe a stupid one) for the board from someone that just began selling covered calls. Schwab includes the value of the covered calls I sold as a negative to my portfolio balance. I understand including options I've purchased as an "asset" to the portfolio in the portfolio value, as it is an option that I can exercise in the future. The covered calls I sold are not "assets" to me. I appreciate being able to see the change in the value of the covered calls, but should they really be included as a reduction to my portfolio?

Would be nice to have a liquid options chain as a potential way to hedge

GeorgiAg said:

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El Chupacabra said:

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gougler08 said:

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AGSmith said:

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Found this tonight on X… might be helpful

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Set a couple of alerts but almost all of these have gone parabolic over the last few weeks, don't get stuck on the moon with them

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I'm building a 'theme' on Schwab with 30 of them and will DCA over time.

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Again, I learn something new on this site almost every day. Gotta check this out.

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If you have Schwab, they have pre-set themes, '3D Printing' for example. Within that theme, they have certain stocks at certain percentages. You buy the theme and it assigns shares/dollars based on the percentage of what is in the theme. W/in the 3D theme, GE makes up 10% of the theme, so if you buy $1000 of the theme, you buy $100 worth of GE.

You can customize the themes, add and subtract stocks and adjust the percentages (up to 30 stocks in a theme). None of the original stocks need to remain in there. You can't change the name of the theme.

Why not just get the VanEck ETF, REMX, to get a basket of the rare earth and metal stocks? Is that a good option to cast a wide net?

It's brand new, so options will probably become available next month when it meets OCC standards (30-day trading history, above $3, etc)

You should be showing a credit to your cash balance as well. You sold the call option, which is showing negative value because you have an obligation so sell those shares if the option's exercised. It's all accounting, not necessarily a loss until exercised.

Very cool. Thanks.

30AOZAg said:

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Why not just get the VanEck ETF, REMX, to get a basket of the rare earth and metal stocks? Is that a good option to cast a wide net?

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Fee vs no fee. And able to customize percentages if wanted. Those are about the only reasons.

Looking at selling the POWL 400 Nov 19 strike at $9-10...earnings in between there but seems like great premium for either $60 more of runup in the stock or pocket premium after earnings

flashplayer said:

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The news for WWR was an escalation in the rhetoric between China and the US. The whole rare earths sector exploded on that. Now that JPM came out with their list of 39 and WWR isn't on it, the speculative fever is dying down a bit. That and profit taking. But yeah, it could hit $5 next week or be back at $1 by Friday.

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MP is on the list and is following a similar downward trajectory as WWR today.

I don't really like that the government is picking winners and losers. I have no idea where any of the listed or not listed companies will go now.

Good point. After a closer look, there is only overlap on 5 of the companies on the Lithium and rare earth list. Many of the companies in the VanEck etf are Australian with some Chinese as well. May not be the best fit

I bleed maroon said:

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Thunderstruck xx said:

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flashplayer said:

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The news for WWR was an escalation in the rhetoric between China and the US. The whole rare earths sector exploded on that. Now that JPM came out with their list of 39 and WWR isn't on it, the speculative fever is dying down a bit. That and profit taking. But yeah, it could hit $5 next week or be back at $1 by Friday.

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MP is on the list and is following a similar downward trajectory as WWR today.

I don't really like that the government is picking winners and losers. I have no idea where any of the listed or not listed companies will go now.

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Yep. It's:

a) A slippery slope
b) A road to hell
c) An invitation to corruption
d) All of the above

I choose d).

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I choose c. If so, please send my invitation to Georgiag@gmail.com.

Where's that Plunge Protection Team at?

Yukon Cornelius said:

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A trade war with China is good for CAT

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Why do you think a trade war with China is good for CAT? They came out in Late Aug saying their expected full year tariff impact to be between $1.5-1.8 billion.

I made the mistake of buying a nice large chunk of MSTY and then not following it closely or setting a stop on it.
Holy moly it's taken a crazy nice dive and I'm not sure recovery is in sight.

QQQ and SPY are trying to hold onto their 5DMA for dear life. If they crack, there's good room beneath on the short side for a trade.

Holy crap, I go into Sam's for a couple of items and come out to see things rolling down hill!

Edit: nm, not sure what was up….guess I just happen to see the small bounce down,'lol

ag94whoop said:

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I made the mistake of buying a nice large chunk of MSTY and then not following it closely or setting a stop on it.
Holy moly it's taken a crazy nice dive and I'm not sure recovery is in sight.

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I'm down about $4000 at the moment on MSTY but it's paid out about $4000 since I bought in so it's a wash rn.

I'm currently getting $500/month from MSTY in a tax free account, so if it can keep doing that, I'll keep holding.

My goodness Oracle and Nebius just had some big spikes

techno-ag said:

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ag94whoop said:

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I made the mistake of buying a nice large chunk of MSTY and then not following it closely or setting a stop on it.
Holy moly it's taken a crazy nice dive and I'm not sure recovery is in sight.

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I'm down about $4000 at the moment on MSTY but it's paid out about $4000 since I bought in so it's a wash rn.

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Just a technical point for others:

Total Return is the way to look at these type investments. While this looks like a breakeven proposition at first glance, remember that if it's after-tax money, the income is treated as either dividends, return of capital, or ordinary income. The principal loss is either short term or long term capital gain offset, depending on when you sell. Look at these carefully tax-wise to see if they're right for you.

Funny seeing Solaris on here. Up until they got into the power game, they were mostly just a frac sand wellsite storage company.

Sold a big chunk of VOO and VTI right before everything dumped to get some dry powder ready.

Honestly got lucky on the timing.

Tax free accounts are the way to go but good point. Income may affect your taxes. Some will be classified as return of capital, though, so it may not be as bad as one would think.

Hoping FIG is at it's resistance level now for a bounce. Sold a $75 cc a couple weeks ago that expires tomorrow, so that at least helped lower my average

BBAI - I am adding about 10% to what I have here. If it drops some more I will make another buy around 7.25.

30AOZAg said:

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Good point. After a closer look, there is only overlap on 5 of the companies on the Lithium and rare earth list. Many of the companies in the VanEck etf are Australian with some Chinese as well. May not be the best fit

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Sprott Critical Materials ETF (SETM)

The ETF, which provides exposure to the critical materials industry, had a total net asset value of $162.39 million as of October 15, 2025.

It has performed strongly over the past year, with a market price increase of 42.10%.

The fund's top holdings include MP Materials Corp., Lynas Rare Earths Ltd., and Uranium Energy Corp.
Sprott Critical Materials ETF (SETM)


NAV: As of October 15, 2025, the Net Asset Value (NAV) per share was $29.31.
Total Net Assets: The fund's total net assets were $162.39 million as of October 15, 2025.
1-Year Performance: The market price of SETM increased by 42.10% over the last year, while its NAV saw a 42.27% increase.

Year-to-Date Performance: The market price is up 66.76% and the NAV is up 65.91% for the year-to-date.
Expense Ratio: The net total expense ratio is 0.65%.
Inception: The ETF was launched on February 1, 2023.

Top Holdings
SETM had 86 holdings, with its top holdings including:
MP Materials Corp. (MP): 10.02%
Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. (LYC AU): 6.74%
Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC): 5.40%
Pilbara Minerals Ltd. (PLS AU): 5.39%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB): 4.28%

flashplayer said:

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BBAI - I am adding about 10% to what I have here. If it drops some more I will make another buy around 7.25.

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Are you seeing this still dropping into the lower $7 range? Just wondering if I am looking at this right….

Edit: nm, read your post wrong. Lol

I would imagine that this is weighing heavily on the market.

Regional banks and Jefferies shares tank as concerns grow on Wall Street about sour loans

El Chupacabra said:

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I would imagine that this is weighing heavily on the market.

Regional banks and Jefferies shares tank as concerns grow on Wall Street about sour loans

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and weighing on it…….it is!!!

BucketofBalls99 said:

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flashplayer said:

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BBAI - I am adding about 10% to what I have here. If it drops some more I will make another buy around 7.25.

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Are you seeing this still dropping into the lower $7 range? Just wondering if I am looking at this right….

Edit: nm, read your post wrong. Lol

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This one is likely headed for breaking either a long term or more recent trend line in the next 2-3 weeks. Buying more here is more of a hedge in case it breaks through the top. If it breaks through the bottom of the recent trend line we might be able to get it on sale in November in the 5.50-6.00 range.

VIX going rippy!

Just looked up VIX what is that? The daily chart looks like the inverse of the SPY right now….