Beta Chasing

Questions about risk at BBs has come to the forefront again following JPMorgan's CIO hiccup, but what about risk management when trading your own cash?

At the moment, I'm only investing what I can afford to lose (just under $600) and have been putting it in fairly volatile stocks (pink sheets in particular) looking to see what sort of gains I can get. It could be up 200% or bust in a matter of hours, but I dont mind as I have set aside that much to lose; if I was putting my whole savings account to work it would be a very different story.

I'm interested to see how much risk other monkeys take on in their retail accounts?

6 Comments
 

I was willing to lose it all.. and did

Last summer during the debt crisis fiasco I took a huge gamble. I forgot the S&P level, but the DOW was down 400 points. My boss was like "if this doesn't rebound im cashing my 401k". 10 minutes before market close he sells everything. I decide to scoop up some SPY monthly calls expecting at least a 0.5% bounce or so, then I was going to take profits ASAP. Nopeeeeeeeeee. Next day the bottom fell out and my account blew up =x

It's a trade I'm willing to do 9 times out of 10 though. With small accounts you're forced into risky positions to make up for getting raped by commissions

 
WSOWillI was willing to lose it all.. and did

Last summer during the debt crisis fiasco I took a huge gamble. I forgot the S&P level, but the DOW was down 400 points. My boss was like "if this doesn't rebound im cashing my 401k". 10 minutes before market close he sells everything. I decide to scoop up some SPY monthly calls expecting at least a 0.5% bounce or so, then I was going to take profits ASAP. Nopeeeeeeeeee. Next day the bottom fell out and my account blew up =x

It's a trade I'm willing to do 9 times out of 10 though. With small accounts you're forced into risky positions to make up for getting raped by commissions

I think buying calls/puts to make a play like that is stupid if you only have that limited amount of money.

I would much rather buy/sell tiny put/call spreads that collects theta.

 

Long-term down & out calls / up & out puts (with barrier at strike), and I get in when the stock is around 5% away from the barrier

=> volatility doesn't come too much into play => ultra leverage => very short term trade, a day or two... sometimes a matter of hours

It's just to make up for the fees and... seriously, it's way too boring to buy 10 stocks at $20 and see that it you made 5%... or $10

 

Molestiae id nulla architecto est. Ut voluptatem laborum sed natus eius non et. Illum similique in sed voluptatem est nihil. Voluptates velit atque inventore vel et optio. Placeat natus ab eveniet cupiditate sunt. Et exercitationem et in iusto aut debitis.

Enim ea repellendus inventore adipisci. Non ipsum ipsam impedit quidem tempora et. Minus inventore et est veritatis vel nostrum. Quis quis mollitia omnis tenetur. Libero repellat totam quia odit.

Quo aliquid sed sequi qui optio. Et quis iste veritatis recusandae et blanditiis. Sit quae distinctio vitae iusto consequatur. Voluptatum repellat qui animi quos.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”