Why an Options Trader Never Buys a Mutual Fund

Tom Preston asks a question that reframed his approach once he learned options: why buy a mutual fund? The big S&P index funds, the SPY ETF, and the SPX all track the same market. The difference is mechanical: a mutual fund is priced only once a day at the close, so you don't know what you'll pay in advance. The SPY, by contrast, is a stock you trade live all day, just like Apple, which is exactly why an options trader reaches for the ETF. 📊 tastylive: https://www.tastylive.com/ 📰 Get Tom's pre-market analysis every morning: https://www.tastylive.com/newsletters 📘 FREE Options Strategy Guide: https://tinyurl.com/bp9ms763 📱 Follow tastylive on X: https://x.com/tastyliveshow Chapters 00:00 How everyone learned to invest 00:35 Why buy a mutual fund at all? 01:10 Index funds and the S&P 500 02:00 Correlations almost always one 02:50 Enter the SPY ETF 03:40 What an ETF actually is 04:30 How mutual funds really trade 05:40 Priced only at the close 06:40 The SPY is basically a stock 07:40 Why that matters for options #tastylive #cherrybomb #tompreston #mutualfund #etf #spy #investingbasics #optionseducation #optionstrading #stockmarket tastylive is a real financial network, producing hours of live programming every day. Follow along as our experts navigate the markets, provide actionable trading insights, and teach you how to trade. With over 120 original segments, and over 25 personalities, we'll help you take your trading to the next level, whether you are new to trading or a seasoned veteran. tastylive content is created, produced, and provided solely by tastylive, Inc. ("tastylive") and is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not, nor is it intended to be, trading or investment advice or a recommendation that any security, futures contract, digital asset, other product, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any person. Trading securities, futures products, and digital assets involve risk and may result in a loss greater than the original amount invested. Investment information provided may not be appropriate for all investors and is provided without respect to individual investor financial sophistication, financial situation, investing time horizon or risk tolerance. Options, futures, and futures options are not suitable for all investors. Prior to trading securities, options, futures, or futures options, please read all applicable risk disclosures, including, but not limited to, the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options Disclosure and the Futures and Exchange Traded Options Risk Disclosure Statement found at https://tastytrade.com/disclosures/. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Performance is not presented net of all commissions, fees, and expenses. Multi-leg option strategies incur higher transaction costs than single leg trades as they involve multiple commission charges. Examples provided are for illustrative, informational, and educational purposes only and are not intended to be reflective of results you can expect to achieve. Supporting documentation for any claims, including claims made on behalf of options programs), comparisons, statistics, or other technical data, if applicable, will be supplied upon request. tastylive, through its content, financial programming or otherwise, does not provide investment or financial advice or make investment recommendations. tastylive is not a licensed financial adviser, registered investment adviser, or a registered broker-dealer.