ETMarkets Trade Talk: How this Lucknow MBA trader shifts seamlessly between futures & options

What brought you to trading and investing? Please also take us through your educational background.
I wanted to become a CA but couldn’t complete due to financial issues. Later on, I did an MBA course as well as a PhD in finance. While working under a CA, I got interested in stock markets and have been trading since 2015. Before that, I used to buy and hold stocks. I still believe that wealth is created only in the long term.

What is your trading strategy on a typical day? How do you go about identifying swing opportunities?
I am a Nifty Bank option seller but whenever I find momentum in Nifty, I buy Nifty futures. The strategy there is to hold for 2 months.

Sometimes if the market is trending, you may not get anything by selling options. Then you have to sell in the money option or buy options with the right position sizing. Mostly, in a mild market non-directional option selling works.

But if the market is trending, then I am ready to go in futures or option buying as well.

In Nifty futures, my minimum target is that of 500-700 points. I don’t trade Nifty intraday at all. My rule is to never buy a bear and never sell a bull.What kind of capital did you begin with, and how many returns did you make in 2022?
I started my trading career with Rs 30,000 capital. Since then my capital has grown a lot in size. In 2022, I made 90% return.

Tell us about your biggest winning day on Dalal Street
The biggest single day success that I have seen so far was during the March 2020 crash when the index hit a lower circuit. I had an overnight short position in index futures and ended up making Rs 1.5 crore that day.

How about drawdowns?
I always keep 2-3% of my capital employed as a stop loss. When that happens, I don’t argue with the market. I book the loss and move out.

There are also days when I am not comfortable with the market setup and avoid trading. But when I like the market, I can even go with 500 lots.

How do you trade Nifty Bank on expiry day?
On most days, I hold sell positions only till 12 noon. After that, I study price action. If there is a major breakout then I like to go for a long strangle for 100-200 points when there is no time value after 2 pm.

I track 3 Nifty Bank stocks very closely –

, and . If there is no major momentum or if these stocks are not trading at major levels, then I sell options. If there is a major momentum and there is a breakout or breakdown, then I go for a directional option swing or small buy positions.

When an important level is broken in fibonacci, it always achieves any level. In the hourly charts, if one important level is broken then it will go to other levels.

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