LaDucTrading Clients and Future Clients,
I would like to introduce myself. My name is Andrew O’Connell, and I am joining LaDucTrading as the Director of Research and Trader Education. My goal is to help you get the most value out of your membership. I will be supporting Samantha and her retail and institutional clients with timely market commentary, detailed trade research and educational instruction on how to express Samantha’s macro and micro views using stocks and options, including advanced option tactics.
Prior to joining LaDucTrading, I held the role of senior investment analyst on Vanguard’s Fixed Income trading desk:
I supported management of over $1.5 trillion in capital, spanning a wide array of strategies including investment grade and high yield credit; emerging markets; and fixed income derivatives. I consulted portfolio managers and traders on their derivatives exposures including credit default swaps, CDX, interest rate swaps and swaptions, developed models to automate portfolio analysis, and liaised with sell-side brokers to solve trade disputes in high-pressure situations. I was selected by management to rotate through the credit research team, where I conducted fundamental research on the Residential REIT sector and gained experience analyzing business models, forecasting financials, listening to quarterly earnings calls, and dissecting yield curves. I developed a framework for top-down sector analysis by identifying and analyzing key industry drivers and conducted bottom-up relative value analysis to determine which credits were buys and sells. I learned how to work in a fast paced trading environment with tight deadlines, and how to deal with the pressure associated with managing large sums of capital.
I have also worked independently as a full-time options trader, and it is in pursuit of my passion for options trading that I transitioned to a proprietary trader role with Maverick Trading, LLC. Now, as a swing and trend trader, I apply a top-down approach to markets, and leverage signals in price, volume, and volatility to identify trading opportunities in individual securities and ETFs. I express these ideas using the full gamut of equity options strategies including naked calls and puts, spreads (vertical, diagonal, and horizontal), iron condors and butterflies depending on whether I want to trade directionally or capture income from ‘non’-movement.
I have followed Samantha’s work for quite some time via Twitter, and I highly respect her approach to markets. I am excited to deliver live trading room moderation and trade execution/management support while teaching and engaging with clients in support of your trading and investment goals.
As a membership benefit to clients, I will be accessible each trading day in Samantha’s Live Trading Room – from 9 am to 12:30 pm ET – as well as provide a daily options education and trade review webinar each afternoon from 2-3 pm ET.
I look forward to meeting you in the coming weeks! Don’t hesitate to reach out to me during a live webinar if you have any questions.
-Andrew O’Connell, CFA, FRM