Jon Markman

Jon Markman

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

Lubrizol a Small Cap Earnings Gem (LZ, CMI, SIAL, ASH)

Chemical manufacturer Lubrizol Corp. (LZ) suffered a setback of 5% last week following word that it is in the bidding for a German chemical maker called Cognis, but remains in very powerful uptrend.

Qualcomm QCOM Earnings Preview

In a fascinating example of new tech depending on old tech, the most up-to-date consumer devices on the planet depend on one of the most veteran wireless chipmakers on the planet. And the marriage is working out best for the geezer. That would be Qualcomm (QCOM), one of my letter's top tech picks this spring, a company that's been a leader of the wireless phone and data revolution for more than two decades and has the scars to prove it.

Apple AAPL Earnings Preview

Apple (AAPL), one of the most iconic technology companies in the planet, has performed extremely in the past year but now faces incredible challenges. The main problem: It has executed so well that it has created a level of expectations that may be too lofty in an increasingly competitive environment.

Earnings Returning to Pre-Crisis Levels

First quarter earnings season is finally upon us, as Alcoa (AA) kicked things off with a bang today. Over the next four weeks, 65% of the companies in the benchmark S&P 500 index will report results. Currently, the consensus estimates Q1 S&P 500 earnings per share of $17.07, representing a 39% increase over last year. According to Credit Suisse analysts, this forecast is consistent with the forecast of increased economic activity.

Forestry Stocks on Fire: RYN, PCL, FBR

One of my favorite stocks for this year is one of the largest private landowners in the United States. Operating as a real estate investment trust, the company is Rayonier (RYN), and it specializes in growing and managing timber across its 2.6 million acres in the United States and New Zealand.

Red-Hot Data Proves Bull Market Here to Stay

Recent reports out of investor conferences and management updates make it look as if the first-quarter earnings reports will rock. Here are a few news items from Honeywell (HON), Ball Corp. (BALL) and Applied Materials (AMAT) in the past week that have already caught investors' imaginations:

Investor Updates: Honeywell (HON), Ball (BALL) and Applied Materials (AMAT)

Recent reports out of investor conferences and management updates make it look as if the first-quarter earnings reports will rock. Here are a few news items from Honeywell (HON), Ball Corp. (BALL) and Applied Materials (AMAT) in the past week that have already caught investors' imaginations:

Best Buy Earnings Good News for Retailers

Big news of the past week from a corporate perspective was the terrific earnings report produced by Best Buy (BBY). As owners of the great SPDR Retail (XRT) fund, this is important because Best Buy is a major component and a bellwether for the rest of the industry.

Maguire Properties (MPG) and Glimcher Realty (GRT): REITs That Indicate Change

Two REITs worth note right now are Maguire Properties (MPG) and Glimcher Realty (GRT). During my nightly analysis of the markets, I often focus closely on stocks making new highs and new lows. The reason: Stocks that are reaching extremes are often emblematic of changes that are taking place well below the surface of the broad market, and I highlight them to bring these issues to subscribers' attention.

Compass Minerals CMP – A Company Worth Its Salt

If you've spent your life as an investor looking for a company that's worth its salt, then you need to take a look at Compass Minerals (CMP), the nation's largest miner of sodium chloride and one of the best stocks to buy for the past five years.