Jon Markman

Jon Markman

Editor, Trader's Advantage and CounterPoint Options

Jon Markman is the editor of Trader’s Advantage, a daily trading service that leverages his unique swing trading principles and aims to capture profits of 7% to 15% — and often much more with his options trades — in less than 90 days. By combining technical analysis with underlying fundamentals, Jon recommends beaten down stocks on the brink of reversal and powerful momentum stocks breaking out to new highs.

In CounterPoint Options Jon helps options traders lock in consistent profits from the volatility that rocks the market. At its heart is a proprietary trading system, Magnitude, that pinpoints indexes or sectors that have reached a critical inflection point — then translates that signal into profitable trades.

CounterPoint Options keeps volatility options trading very simple, focusing on the most popular, highly traded exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are headed for a key reversal. Magnitude scans the market and allows subscribers to take advantage of these very liquid trading opportunities.

When CounterPoint Options first launched, it was focused solely on trading the VIX, commonly known as the “fear index.” When traders start buying up put options as “portfolio insurance,” the VIX spikes — a phenomenon that we’ll either trade directly, or use to inform our ETF trades on specific slices of the market. Our agile (and highly lucrative) strategy lets us turn volatility into profits… just like professional traders and hedge funds have been doing for years.

CounterPoint Options helps individual traders make steady, consistent profits from a very methodical approach to growing your portfolio in the midst of a turbulent market.

A pioneer in the development of stock-rating systems and screening software, Jon Markman is co-inventor on two Microsoft patents and author of the best-selling books Swing Trading and Online Investing. He was portfolio manager and senior investment strategist at a multi-strategy hedge fund from 2002 to 2005; managing editor and columnist at CNBC on MSN Money from 1997 to 2002; and an editor, investment columnist and investigative reporter at the Los Angeles Times from 1984 to 1997.

Jon won a Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Financial Journalism for his columns explaining market chicanery in 2002; Society of Professional Journalists awards for his 2001 reporting on Enron and the post-Sept. 11-investment environment; and was a news editor on the Los Angeles Times staff that won Pulitzer Prizes for spot-news reporting in 1992 and 1994.

A graduate of Duke University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Jon speaks frequently on investment topics at conferences nationwide, as well as on TV and radio.

Recent Articles

Super-Intense Stock Plunge May Bring Opportunity

By Jon Markman, Editor, Trader's Advantage and CounterPoint Options

Clusters of extreme declines have historically often brought bring bear markets to a close. Except when they didn't.

Capital Destruction Paves Way for Further Losses

By Jon Markman, Editor, Trader's Advantage and CounterPoint Options

Once in a lifetime events are piling up so fast that we are going to need several lifetimes to absorb them. Someday we'll look back at this period with awe, but for now we just need to figure out how to keep our heads low, our emotions in check, our wits sharp and our portfolios guarded.

Fourth Quarter Earnings Estimates Too High

By Jon Markman, Editor, Trader's Advantage and CounterPoint Options

Overall the tone of next quarter is setting up to be one where companies announce better-than-expected third-quarter numbers but then provide a sour forecast for the fourth quarter as well as for the first half of 2009. That is a recipe for a lot more volatility and not a lot of progress.

Don’t Be Deceived: Economy, Market Still Weak

By Jon Markman, Editor, Trader's Advantage and CounterPoint Options

We can see misdirection everywhere we look today, as brokerage analysts talk up the strength of big financial firms even while we can clearly see that fund managers at those brokerages are feeding stock into the market on every rally. So it is times like this when we really need to understand how to keep our eye on the ball, and not look where the dealers want us to look.

Why the Treasury Hit the “Reset” Button

By Jon Markman, Editor, Trader's Advantage and CounterPoint Options

It became apparent over the past two weeks that the only way to hit the reset button on the global economy is for Western capitalist governments to act like their socialist counterparts and recapitalize their financial systems. Here's how it would work.

Lehman and Wamu in Death Pact

By Jon Markman, Editor, Trader's Advantage and CounterPoint Options

Stocks have jostled around lately like rocks at the bottom of a paper bag, always threatening to break down but never quite developing the energy. This week's trading was brought to you by the letter E, for "entropy," which is a measure of disorder with a system.

Will the Election Save the Economy?

By Jon Markman, Editor, Trader's Advantage and CounterPoint Options

It's no secret that this is an election year and that markets tend to favor elections. However, these are special times and you have to look at history to get a sense for what may be headed our way this year. I did some digging and have some very interesting results to share with you today.

Remain Skeptical of the Market Bounce

By Jon Markman, Editor, Trader's Advantage and CounterPoint Options

Stocks have moved up and down violently over the last few months, but for all of their efforts, have gone nowhere. In fact, in the past three months the major indexes have moved a grand total of two points higher! The shorter-term view of the market looks like we're experiencing a bounce, but my advice to you is to stay skeptical.

Trouble Brewing in Korea, Brazil

By Jon Markman, Editor, Trader's Advantage and CounterPoint Options

Korea is one of our most important trading partners, and has in the past been a "canary in the coal mine" in terms of serving as an omen of more fragile economic conditions for the U.S. If the S&P 500 were to similarly lose a third of its value this year, it would be at 1,005. That's a long way down from here, so it's one more reason to continue to be extra cautious.

World Growth Slowdown is Bad News for U.S.

By Jon Markman, Editor, Trader's Advantage and CounterPoint Options

Stocks may have been quiet all week, but news out of Europe, Asia and the U.S. financial institutions continues to grab investors' attention as we transit toward autumn. Much of this news will likely have a long-term impact on U.S. share prices and is worth a long hard look for anyone trying to make money in this market.

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