Jared Levy

Jared Levy is editor of our options trading research service, Option Strategies Weekly, and editor of Smart Investing Daily, the free e-letter dedicated to guiding investors through the world of finance in order to make smart investing decisions.

Jared's passion is teaching the public how to successfully and consistently trade and invest for a living, while keeping risk low. Through analyzing equities, derivatives and the markets as a whole, as well as practicing advanced risk management through both simple and complex strategies and diverse instruments, he offers a practical, straightforward approach to investing.

He has spent the past 15 years of his career immersed in the finance and options industry, working as a retail money manager educating the public on smart investing decisions, and serving as one of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange’s youngest-ever members to become a market maker on three major U.S. exchanges.

Jared has also worked as a floor specialist for Fortune 1000 companies, successfully trading thousands of options contracts and shares daily, equating to millions of dollars in risk. Most recently,　Jared served as a senior derivatives strategist.

Since 2004, Jared has dedicated his time as an on-air anchor and options expert, fielding questions and educating viewers from around the world about the mechanics of the market, risk management, options trading, and the equity and derivative markets in general.

Jared has been featured in several industry publications and financial conferences,and won an Emmy for his daily video "Trader Cast." He is a CNBC Fast Money contributor and has been featured on Bloomberg, Fox Business, CNN radio, Wall Street Journal radio and many other financial and non-financial networks around the world. He is regularly quoted by Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and Yahoo! Finance, among others.

Jared actively invests in real estate around the U.S. and has held his real estate and insurance licenses and his Series 7 and 63.

Get to Know Jared Levy

What is your hot sector for 2011? My 2010 picks, namely Apple and Google, are going to be hard to beat. I do believe that those stocks will continue to flourish as the global smart phone market remains relatively untapped, and I still see upside in quality "cloud computing" stocks moving forward.

But for 2011, my focus is food. More specifically, food inflation and demand, which will become a more common topic at our dinner tables (pun intended) and in the financial word. The fertilizer stocks in general should continue to do well and companies like Mosaic (MOS) at $76 are ones I am targeting. Also take a look at Corn Products International (CPO) and the DBA index, which contains holdings in various "soft" commodities. Buy them on the dips.

What is one thing an investor should consider when picking a stock? While I pride myself on keeping it simple, it is extremely hard to just choose one thing to examine, so I’ll give you three.

From a fundamental perspective, one must truly consider a company’s future business and its viability moving forward. Technological advancement, for example, is always moving at a breakneck pace. Gordon E. Moore (co-founder of Intel) stated this when he noted that the number of transistors of an integrated circuit will double every two years. This rate, along with other factors, can make trends change fast (look at Eastman Kodak as an example of a company that failed to evolve). If you are a longer-term investor, you need to go beyond the analyst models and look at the evolving trends that are out there and how they may affect your investment.

Be aware of overbought or oversold conditions. Even a great company you want to invest in could be the victim of "crowd hysteria." This could drive the price to excessive short-term levels and be the prelude to a correction. Stocks tend to have "normal" behaviors and movements; be careful when jumping on the bandwagon with everyone else -- you don’t want to be there when the wheels come off.

Look around you; don’t forget that even though investing can seem so intangible and esoteric at times, the companies that succeed are usually the ones that your friends, family, neighbors and you need in your everyday lives. If everyone you know is talking about how great the Apple store is and how they really want an Apple product, you might want to look at the stock. Use common sense.

What do you like to do in your free time? I have many passions in life. Learning, first and foremost, is my favorite pastime. Because I have yet to have children, my motorcycles are my babies and have a special place in my heart. I take great pride in working on them, restoring them and riding them all over the world. The freedom of two wheels, fresh air and exploring our beautiful country is unparalleled. My goal in the next five years is to ride from Key West, Fla., to Alaska. I am also a hard-core foodie and music lover! I love nature and the outdoors as well!

What job would you be doing if you weren't editor and analyst extraordinaire? I have always been supermotivated and always follow my passions. In my past life as a pit trader, I was following my dream. As a writer, educator, trader and analyst I continue to do what I love. The stock or options markets have been my life since I was 15, so it’s hard to get away from them. If I were not doing this, I would most likely travel around the world (on the Harley, of course) teaching. Maybe I could be a food and wine critic on the side.

I recently completed my first book, titled "Your Options Handbook," published by Wiley Trading. It takes the reader through a complete step-by-step journey on becoming a trader, with a focus on options. It has been the culmination of years of work and research. I was also fortunate enough to have some close friends and prominent fellow traders offer a few chapters on trading psychology and turning your trading skills and tactics into a business.

I think it is the most complete options/trading book out there and has something for everyone from the beginner to the more advanced trader. I even offer grainy details into the strategies and secrets of my trading.

If you have any desire to master your trading skills or just learn more about how the markets really work, I would be grateful if you picked up a copy.

(You can purchase Jared's book right here, through Amazon.com.)