From July 10th until October 6th, I told my subscribers to short Potash Corp. (POT). By the time we covered our position, we had locked in an impressive 65% gain! This, of course, is to say nothing of the 158.62% and 509.52% gains we made by selling the September puts.

So how is it that I can lock in these high profits when most investors have had their slates wiped clean?

The answer is simple: My investment strategy is an all-encompassing mix of going long, going short and buying options.

We are in a period of considerable economic uncertainty, friends, which is why "buying and holding" just doesn’t cut it anymore. Yes, it is frightening to think there’s no end in sight to the market’s collapse—a crash scenario is scary for anyone! But our ultimate goal as investors is to lock in our profits, solidify our cash positions and be prepared for whatever comes next.

And the best way to do that is to take advantage of the market’s broader downward trend. Shorting stocks and betting on declining stocks is a great investing strategy because a stock that’s dropped off its highs can be just as profitable as staking a long position in a stock that’s heading up.

One of the sectors my subscribers and I have profited nicely in is commodities. Back in July, all of the technical indicators I use—from the MACD to oscillators that determine the speed, direction and distance of a stock’s movement—pointed to a commodities bubble burst. Since then, oil has tanked, fertilizer companies have tanked, and natural gas has tanked. Need I say more?

I told my subscribers to short and buy puts on steel stocks like AKS Steel (AKS) and United States Steel (X). Our shorts yielded 69.52% and 67.28%, respectively, and our puts yielded 60% and 21.43%, respectively.

Our most successful long position has been the U.S. dollar. In just three days earlier this month, we gained almost 17%!

So if you want a successful strategy that will help you preserve—and grow—your wealth even in the most volatile markets, a combination of shorts, longs and options is the way to do it.

Obviously, everyone has to do what”s best for their own portfolios. The idea is to properly diversify your investments. It’s never a good idea to make options the focus of your portfolio because of the amount of risk you take on, but they’re a great way to lock in some extra gains.

Just be sure to always plan your trades before you play—if you don’t know your entry and exit points, the losses you incur will start to mount. But if you’re careful, the right combination of going short, going long and buying options will lead you to profits!