Hedging For Disaster – 5 Plays that Make 500% if the Market Falls

We have some very successful hedges already as I've been pounding the table on TZA since $13.50 and, since you know I am a big fan of taking cash off the table in either direction, let's not be greedy and look at ways to "roll" our existing downside protection into new downside plays so we can set SENSIBLE stops on our now deep in the money short plays (very similar to our Mattress Strategy). 

Keep in mind that Friday was the biggest market decline we've had since May, so adding a layer of protection here doubles our returns if this is the first leg of a major sell-off, or it gives us a smaller hedge that we can roll up later while we take our bigger hedges off the table.  As I have to say WAY too often to Members – It's not a profit until you cash it in! 

Hedging for disaster is a concept I advocated during another "recovery," in October of 2008, where we made our cover plays to carry us through a worrisome holiday season and into Q1 earnings – "just in case."  That "just in case" saved a lot of portfolios!  The idea is to take disaster hedges using high-return ETFs that will give you 3-5x returns in a major downturn.  That way, 10% allocated of your virtual portfolio to protection can turn into 30-50% on a dip, giving you some much-needed cash right when there is a good buying opportunity.  At the time, I advocated SKF Jan $100s at $19.  SKF hit $300 around Thanksgiving and those calls made a profit of over $280 (1,400%), so putting even just 5% of your virtual portfolio into that financial hedge would give you back 75% of your portfolio when you cash out. 

Keep in mind these are INSURANCE plays – you expect to LOSE, not win but, if you need to ride out a lot of bullish positions through an uncertain period, this is a pretty good way to go.  I have long wanted top put up a Buy List but it's still too risky as the Dow has been unable to break our 13,600 target and the S&P has failed to hold 1,440 and, as I warned just yesterday morning, ahead of a 200-point drop, the Dow has no real…