InvestingWithBrandon

You are your environment.
If everyone around you thinks investing is too risky.
You will think investing is too risky.
If everyone around you has a net worth of $5M+.
You will start asking why you do not.
I grew up in a small city in Ohio.
Nobody around me was building wealth.
Nobody was investing.
Nobody was thinking bigger.
I moved to Vegas.
Changed my environment.
Changed my circle.
Started being around people who made me feel behind.
That feeling is worth more than any course you will ever take.
Get in rooms where you are not the smartest person.
Get around people who make you uncomfort

Every time the market dips a news headline comes out saying it is going to crash.
Every. Single. Time.
These people publish that article once a month forever.
The one time the market actually crashes they push it everywhere.
CNBC invites them on stage.
"Meet the man who predicted the crash."
Then he pitches you his ETF with 2% fees.
Here is the truth.
The S&P was $2,300 in 2017.
It is $6,000+ now.
Every single person who sold because of those headlines missed a 160%+ gain.
A broken clock is right twice a day.
That does not make it a good clock.
Ignore the headlines.
Stay invested in quality.

Most people think charts predict stock prices.
Fibonacci retracement.
Bollinger Bands.
Moving averages.
RSI.
Here is the problem...
Give the same chart to two different technical analysts.
One says it is super bullish.
One says it is super bearish.
Both give you 10 reasons why they are right.
If I am going to buy a lemonade stand I am not asking what the Fibonacci level was 2 years ago.
I am asking how much money does it make.
What are the margins.
What is the growth.
What's the profits.
Same thing with stocks.
EPS is the most important only thing that matters long term.
Charts react to it.

When I buy calls I need two things to go right.
Direction AND timing.
That is why most people lose money buying calls.
If you buy a 1 month call and the stock goes sideways for 30 days... you lose everything.
Theta eats your contract 3.3% per day theoretically.
If you buy a 1 year call and the stock goes sideways for 3 months then rebounds, you win.
You gave yourself time to be right.
Step 1. Market is cheap. Sell 1 year portfolio secured put. Collect $10k.
Step 2. Take 6k and buy shares of the company you are bullish on.
Step 3. Take $3k of that premium. Buy 1 year calls on the same company.

Only invest money you do not need for 5+ years.
Sounds simple.
Most people ignore it & blow up their portfolio.
If you might need it in 2 years... CD or bond.
Not the stock market.
If the market drops 40% right after you invest & you need that money in 2 years you are forced to sell at a loss.
The market does not care when you need the money.
The right way to make your money work:
Every dollar after bills are paid.
Every raise & bonus.
Every dollar of put premium.
Anything you can let compound for 5+ years
Time horizon is risk management when you hold quality companies at good prices.
Non-ne

Strike price selection for sold puts.
Most people overthink this completely.
Here is what I do.
I only sell puts on things I already feel are undervalued.
Then I go 10% below the current price.
Q at $600?
I sell the $540 put.
I am already buying something cheap. (assuming this in the example)
Then I am going 10% below that.
The market has to fall 10% from an already undervalued level to put me in assignment range on expiration date.
& guess what, I always have my ratios in check to be able to take assignment no mayor what!
I will be happy to get paid to buy shares cheaper in the future and not

The first $100,000 is the hardest money you will ever make.
Not because the math is hard.
Because the psychology is brutal.
$10k in the bank. You want a vacation.
$50k in the bank. You want a new car.
$99k in the bank. You want to celebrate.
The people who blow it there never get to compound.
The people who hold it there watch the next $100k come way faster.
Then the next one. Then the next one.
The first $100k proves something more important than money.
It proves you have the discipline to not be your own worst enemy.
That is the hardest thing to learn.

Rule #1 in investing: do not get wiped out.
Rule #2: do not forget rule #1.
Here is exactly how I keep ratios in check when I sell portfolio secured puts & beat the market at the same time.
Expensive market:
Max sold put assignment = < 50% of portfolio value.
Cheap market:
Max assignment = 65% or more of portfolio value to capitalize on deals but still be fine in volatility.
On a $1M portfolio in a expensive market that means max $500k on the hook for to buy of shares for sold puts.
Even if the portfolio falls 50% to $500k I still cover it.
(I can roll too, but just showing I have the cash if

$VOO was $139 in 2013.
Investor says: "I am waiting for a 25% dip."
2014: market hits $200. Still waiting.
2018: market at $240. Still waiting.
2020: FOMO. Buys at the top. COVID hits. Panics. Sells bottom.
Waits again. Buys top again.
Meanwhile the person who just bought in 2013 & held?
VOO is at $600+.
300%+ return.
Did absolutely nothing.
To time the market you have to be right twice.
The bottom AND the top.
Nobody does it consistently.
Time in the market beats timing the market. Every decade.

Mr. Market knocks on your door 600 times a day.
He offers you Apple at $200.
Then $150.
Then $250.
Then $180.
None of it is the true value.
Most people react to every knock.
Buy at $200. He says $150. They panic sell.
Market rebounds to $280. They chase back in.
Buy high. Sell low. Repeat forever.
Here is what I do.
I ignore his daily prices.
I watch the true fundamentals of the business.
& when he offers me something truly cheap I strike.
In investing you get no called strikes.
You can let 1,000 pitches go by.
Swing only at the fat ones.

Same Nvidia.
Same $180 strike.
Completely different outcome.
1 month put: collect $385. Margin of safety: 7%.
1 year put: collect $2,540. Margin of safety: 34%.
Safety comes from buying below fair value & EPS growth in the time frame.
To beat me with monthlies you need 8 wins in a row.
One bad month wipes everything.
& you are forced to sell puts when the market is hot & there is less deals too.
Can a CEO make his company more valuable in 1 month?
No.
In 1 year? Absolutely.
Stocks follow the profits.
That does not materially change in a month...

I look at thousands of companies every week.
I say no to 99% of them.
Here is the exact 5 point filter.
All 5 must pass.
1. EPS growing up & to the right.
2. Stock at or below intrinsic value.
3. Real moat competitors can not copy.
4. Genuine pricing power.
5. Macro thesis is clean.
One fails & I wait.
No FOMO. No chasing. No exceptions.
Apple could charge $2,000 for an iPhone.
People pay it.
That is pricing power.
That is what I want behind my sold puts.

Most people get a pay raise & immediately upgrade their lifestyle.
New car. Nicer place. Better restaurants.
That is exactly why most people are broke.
I could buy a Lambo right now.
I could buy a plane right now. (I'm a private pilot)
I will not do either.
Because that money stops working for me the second I spend it.
My goal is simple.
Get the portfolio to a level where it pays for my entire lifestyle many times over.
The biggest flex is not needing a day job.

YieldMax is paying a 40% dividend yield.
(here is what that actually means for your money)
$10,000 invested for 1 year.
Dividends reinvested.
YieldMax: down 43%.
You have $5,700.
Q: up 29%.
You have $12,900.
The yield is based on the current share price.
As NAV drops.
Your payout drops too.
10% of $100 = $10.
10% of $50 = $5.
That is the trap.
The yield looks great because the share price is falling. But don't be tricked... Its a percent of the lower share price... Not your basis.
Sell portfolio secured puts for income. Keep the growth. Best of both worlds.

I sold puts on Meta.
Collected $46,000 instantly.
My cash balance? $232.
Cash secured put on the same trade would have required $280,000 sitting in cash doing nothing.
Instead I used my base portfolio as collateral.
Took that $46k & bought Meta LEAP calls.
Took the rest & bought VOO, Q & META shares.
Zero margin interest.
Zero cash drag.
Full upside intact.
Ratios in check to be fine in any downturn.
It is exactly like a HELOC on your house.
Except you pay nothing in interest.
That gap = $280k working vs $280k sleeping
This is a MAJOR difference.

Most people think a stock dropping 25% automatically makes it a buy.
It does not.
If a stock fell from $400 to $300 but intrinsic value is $200.
You just bought an overpriced stock on sale.
That is not investing.
Here is what I check before I buy anything.
Is it trading at or below intrinsic value?
Does it have a real moat?
Is EPS growing up & to the right?
Does it have pricing power?
Is the macro thesis clean?
All yes?
I back the truck up.
One no?
I wait.
Price is what you pay.
Value is what you get.
Learn the difference & you will never panic buy again.

The S&P 500 has never once failed to hit new all time highs after a crash.
Not after 1987.
Not after 2000.
Not after 2008.
Not after 2020.
Not after 2022.
Every single time the experts said it was different this time.
Every single time they were wrong.
The crash feels like the end when you are in it.
Then you look back 5 years later & realize it was the best buying opportunity of your life.
The people who panicked out locked in permanent losses.
The people who had structure & stayed in made a killing.
Volatility is not the risk.
Permanent decisions made out of temporary fear is the risk.