What did you trade today and why?

[Rhythm Method]

Boring stuff again. Added a little to FBALX, a smaller nibble at SGENX, and put in a limit order for PHK.

Once I work my way down to around 20% cash, I’ll probably slow things down.

Good luck out there.
— RM

 

[kevdude]

Sold out of AMZN in IRAs and took small positions in ARES, OWL and BX. Also added to PHK and PFN.

 

[COcheesehead]

Don't be confused about the green Fidelity is displaying for GOF. They do NOT factor in the dividend deduction on ex-date, for any security. Check the chart for closing price on previous session against what it opens up as on the current. I really wish they wouldn't do it this way.

So this doesn’t reflect the dividend?

 

[surprising]

Added to PDI, DX, VTI and PHK in last couple days. Just nibbling, no huge purchases. DCA'ing as they go down.

 

[Randy145]

So this doesn’t reflect the dividend?

View attachment 62342

This absolute share price will be correct. The amount of increase or decrease for the ex-date day (depicted in the position display) will not have the dividend subtraction factored in, though. A little hard to explain.

Edit: So even though GOF showed as positive for the day, it was actually less than what it closed for the previous day.

 

[Fishmasterdan]

Does doing nothing count? Sold HGRAF at 44% profit. Rolled TQQQ options out for a credit. Was a 47$ strike the day before expiration it was 47.10 . Got super lucky on that one. Selling some CSP puts on AMZN. Trying to stay OUT of stocks till it turns around. At 44% cash right now. I am thinking its kinda hard to go wrong right now selling CSP at 30 or lower deltas for a little cash.

 

[Randy145]

Does doing nothing count? Sold HGRAF at 44% profit. Rolled TQQQ options out for a credit. Was a 47$ strike the day before expiration it was 47.10 . Got super lucky on that one. Selling some CSP puts on AMZN. Trying to stay OUT of stocks till it turns around. At 44% cash right now. I am thinking its kinda hard to go wrong right now selling CSP at 30 or lower deltas for a little cash.

Bonds aren't doing well either. About the only safe place are MMs and ultra short term treasuries.

 

[COcheesehead]

Edit: So even though GOF showed as positive for the day, it was actually less than what it closed for the previous day.

I take that to mean it is up post dividend.

 

[Randy145]

I take that to mean it is up post dividend.

Yes after the dividend is subtracted. Relative to that reduced share price it was up a little bit, but way down from the previous close. Currently the display shows as being down, so it's down from the previous day by the amount of the dividend PLUS the little loss.

 

[Bruno]

Added 250 CSWC on a buy order @21.60. Looks like it hit after the monthly Div paid. Went down to 21.50 so i lost a few dollars.

 

[COcheesehead]

Yes after the dividend is subtracted. Relative to that reduced share price it was up a little bit, but way down from the previous close. Currently the display shows as being down, so it's down from the previous day by the amount of the dividend PLUS the little loss.

The dividend is taken off from a point in time. There then is an opening value and if the fund is up from that point it will show as green.

 

[Randy145]

Yes. The point is, though, the ex-date display will only reflect what happened after the subtraction of the dividend.

 

[Bruno]

The dividend is taken off from a point in time. There then is an opening value and if the fund is up from that point it will show as green.

So on Fido it shows this screen saying the EX date is the date the investment will drop. Is that not correct?

 

[COcheesehead]

Yes. The point is, though, the ex-date display will only reflect what happened after the subtraction of the dividend.

Right….. I am not following your point at all. If it’s green it’s up ex dividend, if red its down ex dividend.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I sold some VOO and purchased some VTI to do my 3rd tax-loss harvest of the year. My primary goal was to generate about $3000 in losses so that I can use it to offset some income next year at tax time to lower my MAGI for ACA purposes. I'll be cutting it close to the ACA cliff this year and a $3000 reduction could be helpful to avoid thousands in added health insurance costs.

 

[Randy145]

So on Fido it shows this screen saying the EX date is the date the investment will drop. Is that not correct?
View attachment 62344

Yes, the dividend is subtracted from the share price at some point before the market opens on its ex-date.

 

[junkanoo]

The dividend is taken off from a point in time. There then is an opening value and if the fund is up from that point it will show as green.

Correct. The opening price reflects the payout of the dividend, if for just a moment. What happens after this is the market.

 

[Randy145]

Right….. I am not following your point at all. If it’s green it’s up ex dividend, if red its down ex dividend.

Ok, let me try this again from a little different perspective.

*GOF closed at 11.28ish on 3-12-26

*GOF opened at 11.17ish on 3-13-26 (ex-dividend date)

Between the 2 above times, the dividend was deducted from the share price. There was also some afterhours trading going on. The dividend is around .06 but the share price fell about .11, so the additional downside must have been due to that afterhours trading.

The amount that Fidelity will show for either a gain for this ex-day (green) or a loss (red) will be relative to the opening price for today. If the share price was 11.20 sometime earlier today, it would have shown a .03 gain (green). But, relative to the closing price the previous day, it would actually have been an .08 loss. The display for a stock or a fund or whatever outside of an ex-date is always for what happened between the previous close day and the current time you're viewing the display. Therefore, the decline in the share price due to the dividend being subtracted is being masked by Fidelity.

That's the best I can do.

 

[richardsok]

PHK is moving near vertical downward, Shed 3.5% for the day again. Yeah, I know 'bout falling knives, but this feels like CEF retail panic, Bought a bit.
.
The devil made me do it.

 

[COcheesehead]

Ok, let me try this again from a little different perspective.

*GOF closed at 11.28ish on 3-12-26

*GOF opened at 11.17ish on 3-13-26 (ex-dividend date)

Between the 2 above times, the dividend was deducted from the share price. There was also some afterhours trading going on. The dividend is around .06 but the share price fell about .11, so the additional downside must have been due to that afterhours trading.

The amount that Fidelity will show for either a gain for this ex-day (green) or a loss (red) will be relative to the opening price for today. If the share price was 11.20 sometime earlier today, it would have shown a .03 gain (green). But, relative to the closing price the previous day, it would actually have been an .08 loss. The display for a stock or a fund or whatever outside of an ex-date is always for what happened between the previous close day and the current time you're viewing the display. Therefore, the decline in the share price due to the dividend being subtracted is being masked by Fidelity.

That's the best I can do.

Let me explain it back. The gain or loss shown today is from today’s starting point. It’s not masking anything. Look at a chart to see the bigger picture of the ex dividend and any after market rise or fall.

 

[NW-Bound]

Does doing nothing count? Sold HGRAF at 44% profit. Rolled TQQQ options out for a credit. Was a 47$ strike the day before expiration it was 47.10 . Got super lucky on that one. Selling some CSP puts on AMZN. Trying to stay OUT of stocks till it turns around. At 44% cash right now. I am thinking its kinda hard to go wrong right now selling CSP at 30 or lower deltas for a little cash.

I would go lower deltas on puts to be safe. This market is in a bad mood.

Selling OTM covered calls at 0.30 delta is what I have been doing for years. But feeling that the market mood is bearish, today I sold at higher deltas, meaning the strike prices are closer to the present prices. I even entertained the idea of selling ITM covered calls for better protection against price drop.

Don't wanna sell puts now. Not until my cash level gets higher from the current level of 35%. For that to happen, I want to see some calls get assigned. Recently though, prices keep dropping.

By the way, I sold or rolled 87 contracts today, all with expiry next Friday.

 

[COcheesehead]

PHK is moving near vertical downward, Shed 3.5% for the day again. Yeah, I know 'bout falling knives, but this feels like CEF retail panic, Bought a bit.
.
The devil made me do it.

It’s just like FSCO. Trade it, don’t own it.

 

[dickoncapecod]

I sold PCN and most of my PTY early. Bought PHK and WDI, scaling down through the day. Still have about 15% cash for next week.
Regards, Dick

 

[Onda]

Today I traded impatience for patience—patience usually has the better long-term return.

 

[Randy145]

Let me explain it back. The gain or loss shown today is from today’s starting point. It’s not masking anything. Look at a chart to see the bigger picture of the ex dividend and any after market rise or fall.

You're absolutely right that the current display is showing the current day's movement. What it doesn't give you is a clue to what happened over night and the effect of what the dividend subtraction had on the share price.