Meet Christopher Gilliam
Christopher Gilliam
Despite having no background in finance or investing, business owner Christopher Gilliam opened a trading account four years ago and sees consistent returns.
Making on average three to five trades per day a with a targeted 25%-35% return on capital per year, he’s beat his number last year using tasty mechanics--trading more than 2,800 times in 2024.
Gilliam owned a small business for the last 13 years (Vanguard Cleaning Systems of Dallas-Fort Worth) growing it from $0 to $8 million in annual revenue. Before that he was in medical device sales with St. Jude Medical, first as a sales rep and then regional sales manager before completing an MBA and starting his business.
How did you start trading?
As my business grew and I had money to invest. I was very frustrated with passive investments like real estate and buying stocks, and I knew about options from friends who had been discussing selling covered calls. I had no idea what a put or call was so I started my research. I started reading books, watching videos, and then I ran across Mike and his White Board with host Mike Butler on tastylive, the tastytrade video streaming network.
My world changed and I went down a deep rabbit hole watching countless tastylive videos. It changed my life and the way I looked at the markets. I have been trading every day for the past four years and still watch the videos daily. I will be trading from this day forward and know this is something I will do well after I sell my business or hire a general manager to run it.
Favorite trading strategy
Strangles .20 Delta is my go to with implied volatility rank (IVR) over 35. Directional with IVR low, but I follow the tasty mechanics religiously. If directional, I skew the strangles or sell one side. I scalp regularly to keep myself engaged and trade all products.
What do you trade most?
Options on equities, futures and commodities. When IVR is low, I’m trading currencies. Really, I just look for opportunities. I really listen to what the tastylive team guys talk about on the shows to identify opportunities.
Worst trading moment
It happened with Nvidia (NVDA) this year. I "thought" it was overpriced and started selling 20 delta calls. I just knew it was going to retrace. That was a long time ago—before the split. I am still battling it, and I am not proud of this. This is what I get for thinking I know something and not following the mechanics.
Watch his Rising Stars interview here.
Yesenia Duran — not an alien, not a zombie; just an editor.
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