The week started quiet — too quiet. Monday and Tuesday didn’t bring much market movement, and I called it “the calm before the storm.” I stayed mostly on the sidelines, just opening a few spreads in IWM and MSFT.

That storm hit on Wednesday. A weak GDP print, upbeat consumer data, and growing earnings volatility — especially in MSFT — sparked sharp swings. I held off on trading early, but a late-day surge threw off delta balances, particularly in QQQ and MSFT.

Then came Thursday — the MSFT earnings explosion. The stock jumped 9% at the open, which battered our Wiley Wolf (WW) portfolio. I closed all spreads and rebuilt exposure using new front-week trades to try to claw back some of the losses … which worked out for us.

Friday brought a market rebound and a busy trading day — 25 trades in total across the portfolios. I rebalanced deltas in MSFT, DIS, and IWM, using the Friday strength to reposition and reduce risk.

A 2% weekly loss doesn’t feel great in an up market, but it would have been far worse had the other portfolios not posted gains. And it sure looks better next to WW’s 28% plunge on Thursday.

That brings me to an important point: diversification, one of the oldest lessons in investing. People often ask me which portfolios to trade. My answer is always the same: if you can, trade them all.

You see, I never know which strategy will outperform. WW has been my steadiest performer for years, and now it’s down 30% YTD. Honey Badger was a rock star in 2023, then gave a chunk back in 2024. But by spreading risk across all four portfolios — each with different structures, timeframes, and trade mechanics — I can absorb hits like this week. WW got hammered, but the other three helped cut the Composite’s loss to just 2%. Diversification doesn’t always boost returns, but it does help limit pain. And for someone as risk conscious as I am, that trade off is more than worth it.

Thanks for reading. Best of luck out there this week!