When John identifies a strategic exit point, he will send you an alert with specific trade information as to what security to sell, when to sell it, and at what price. Most often, it will be to TAKE PROFITS, but, on rare occasions, it will be to exercise a STOP LOSS at a predetermined price to adhere to strict risk management discipline.

Trade Alert - (TLT)- TAKE PROFITS

SELL the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) May, 2017 $126-$129 in-the-money vertical BEAR PUT spread at $2.97 or best

Closing Trade - NOT FOR NEW SUBSCRIBERS

5-11-2017

expiration date: May 19, 2017

Portfolio weighting: 10%

Number of Contracts = 38 contracts

I am going to take the home run here and rake in the profits in my position in the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) May, 2017 $126-$129 in-the-money vertical BEAR PUT spread.

This gives me a 15.56% profit in only 21 trading days.

With 93.60% of the maximum potential profit in hand, the risk reward for carrying on for six more trading days to expiration is no longer favorable.

Better to have dry powder in hand so we can take advantage of the next ratchet move up or down.

This trade takes our trailing one year performance up to an eye-popping 46.23%, one of the best in the hedge fund industry.

I know I?ve said this before, but the harder I work, the luckier I get.

This was a bet that the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) would not trade above $126 by the May 19th expiration date.

With the Federal Reserve expected to raise interest rates as early as June, our interest rate bet paid off big time.

Also, with my proprietary Mad Hedge Marketing Timing Index now dead on 50, prudence augurs in favor of reducing positions to a minimum.

If you didn?t do options and bought the ProShares Ultra Short 20+ Treasury Bond Fund (TBT) instead, a bet that bonds will fall, keep it. It is going much, much higher.

To see how to enter this trade in your online platform, please look at the order ticket below, which I pulled off of OptionsHouse.

If you are uncertain about how to execute this options spread, please watch my training video ?How to Execute a Vertical Bear Put Spread? .

The best execution can be had by placing your bid for the entire spread in the middle market and waiting for the market to come to you. The difference between the bid and the offer on these deep in-the-money spread trades can be enormous.

Don?t execute the legs individually or you will end up losing much of your profit. Spread pricing can be very volatile with only six days to expiration.

Please keep in mind these are ballpark prices at best. After the text alerts go out, prices can be all over the map. There is no telling how much the market will have moved by the time you get this email.

Paid subscribers, be sure you've signed up for our FREE text service for Trade Alerts. When seconds count, this feature offers a definite trading advantage.? In today's volatile markets, individual investors need every advantage they can get.

Here Are the Specific Trades You Need to Execute This Position:

Sell 38 May, 2017 TLT $129 puts at????.???$9.00

Buy to cover short 38 May, 2017 TLT $126 puts at.?.$6.03
Net Proceeds:?????????????..??.?.....$2.97

Profit: $2.97 - $2.57 = $0.40

(38 X 100 X $0.40) = $1,520 or 15.56% in 21 trading days.