IWM
iShares Russell 2000 ETF
stock NYSE ETF

I don’t many ODTE contracts. I bought a 2DTE call IWM on Thursday and rang the bell a little too early just before 11:00. I should’ve waited would’ve made for a much better day.

Bulls. SPY +1.50%, IWM +1.86%, DIA +1.47%. Broad sweep across large and small caps. Not debatable today.

IWM wants to explode eh

Russelll/IWM seems like the play the rest of the week. Way stronger looking chart than the S&P and the Nasdaq.

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am a 23 M who started consistently investing around a year ago. Here are my current holdings(\~10k):
# Equities (41.22%)
|Ticker|Company Name|% of Portfolio|Gain / Loss|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|**AMD**|Advanced Micro Devices Inc|12.89%|\+102.53%|
|**AMZN**|Amazon.com Inc|11.11%|\+26.19%|
|**AXP**|American Express Co|5.91%|\+0.16%|
|**ONTO**|Onto Innovation Inc|3.29%|\+76.50%|
|**BE**|Bloom Energy Corp|2.65%|\+46.46%|
|**WMS**|Advanced Drainage Systems|1.74%|\-12.84%|
|**PRU**|Prudential Financial Inc|1.50%|\+14.01%|
|**FTV**|Fortive Corp|1.45%|\+2.68%|
|**WRBY**|Warby Parker Inc|0.69%|\+5.34%|
# ETFs & Funds (51.22%)
|Ticker|Fund Name|% of Portfolio|Gain / Loss|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|**SGOV**|iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF|12.21%|\-0.08%|
|**VDC**|Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF|9.08%|\+0.60%|
|**IWM**|iShares Russell 2000 ETF|7.19%|\+7.65%|
|**VIG**|Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF|5.82%|\+3.21%|
|**AVUV**|Avantis US Small Cap Value ETF|3.08%|\+9.57%|
|**COPX**|Global X Copper Miners ETF|2.89%|\-2.52%|
|**VYM**|Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF|2.46%|\+1.03%|
|**SLV**|iShares Silver Trust|1.89%|\-19.98%|
|**GDX**|VanEck Gold Miners ETF|1.83%|\-15.63%|
|**VIOO**|Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 ETF|1.66%|\+13.08%|
|**USCA**|Xtrackers MSCI USA Climate Action ETF|1.62%|\+0.09%|
|**DES**|WisdomTree US SmallCap Dividend ETF|1.00%|\-0.45%|
|**AAAU**|Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF|0.48%|\-6.95%|
Rest is cash that I've been putting off to invest. Any strategies/ picks that you guys suggest so I can set myself up for pretty low risk/steady return? Is it really as simple as VT and chill?
Thank you in advance.

Wrong.
Literally the day this SEC ruling happened was the bottom. [https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/02/2026-06365/order-regarding-the-collateral-broker-dealers-may-pledge-when-borrowing-customer-securities](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/02/2026-06365/order-regarding-the-collateral-broker-dealers-may-pledge-when-borrowing-customer-securities)
The SEC stepped in, quietly changed the rules and removed the contingency that brokers have to back certain transactions/stock loans with US dollars, bank vouchers or US dollar equivalents. Instead said they can start using SPY, IWM, QQQ and other index funds or even baskets of individual stocks in those funds marked to market. What this did is explode the level of risk in our markets and supercharged the level of leverage based on loaning stock shares in the market. They now borrow shares from other brokers based on shares they have. There is really no limit to how insanely leveraged based on nothing they can get now.
AI summary for you - Order Regarding the Collateral Broker-Dealers May Pledge When Borrowing Customer Securities on March 30, 2026, allowing broker-dealers to use specific large-cap equity baskets as collateral under Rule 15c3-3. This update expands permissible collateral, improves liquidity, and modifies operational standards for U.S. securities lending.

i wonder what it was like back in the old days, when different indexes like didn't move in lockstep. SPY, QQQ, IWM, triplets today, finishing each others' sentences

My edit was slow. IWM is my current best thought.

It is simple. Open with a broker which allows you to trade these. I use TastyTrade to day trade options on ETFs like SPY, QQQ, IWM. You can see my daily trades on subreddit. You can also buy shares etc. There are a few other brokers which are available like webull etc now.

Are you sure you aren't thinking of $IWM? $IWMI was only funded in 6/2024 & using an average payout of \~$.60 (just eyeballing it from [here](https://stockanalysis.com/etf/iwmi/dividend/), the current yield is \~13.8%-13.9%; the yield can't get much higher than that, especially sustainably (which I like about $IWMI: 0% portfolio turnover so much less of a NAV-erosion risk).

It should not take 2-3 year in this day when information is available on the internet and real time market data.
\- you don't need to be full time. Get a job you like or less stress which will allow you to watch the chart as you practice day trading
\- make a trading plan/strategy based on your circumstances e.g. your starting money (amount you can afford to lose), your target etc. You can ask chaude ai or chatgpt to help with that. e.g. if you want to make $100, definitely crypto is not good as it is not consistent even if you see someone making money on crypto. Drill down on the answer from claude and learn, google videos on only these topics to avoid deviating and watching shiny new things.
\- cut off social media and focus on your chart and plan
\- stick to one ticker like SPY/QQQ for options or MES, MNQ if you want futures, give it 2-3 months to paper trade and refine your strategy, double an account by consistent profit (not one hit wonder trades), do it again and then use money you can afford to lose.
\- I am in my late 30s when I started. I post my daily entry/exit on the subreddit since last 12 weeks. Only trade once a day on options on ETFs like SPY/QQQ/IWM, hopefully you get inspired that you don't need to be full time trader to make money.

Let's talk about July '26.
On July 8, my account was at **$1.1k**. Just two weeks earlier, it was **$568**.
In mid-June, I started trading **0DTE/1DTE options** on IWM and SPY. As a complete beginner, I tried to play it "safe." It also helped that both ETFs had been moving more than they have over the last couple of weeks. During those first trades, greed showed up from time to time and cost me some money, but overall things went well.
The last three weeks, however, all had the same underlying problem: **my greed**.
Let me describe what happened on Friday because it's a pattern I've repeated many times over the last two years. I know it very well, yet I still struggle to break it.
On Wednesday, I made **$10**, recovering from being down **$200**. So, on Friday, I started the day with a simple rule: **make only one live trade, then switch to paper trading to test my latest Python script.**
I set up the same IWM options trade in both my live account and my paper account, then waited. The trade hit my target for a **$21 profit** in just three minutes.
I should have stopped there.
Instead, I took another live trade. Another winner: **+$40**. Then a third one: **+$16**.
And then the pattern repeated itself.
The fourth trade was a loser: **-$56**.
I was still green for the day. I had given back more than half of my profits, but I was still ahead. Did I stop?
Absolutely not.
I did what I always seem to do: I entered another trade, this time **without a stop loss or a take profit**. I held the option until its intrinsic value was essentially **zero**.
The market wasn't my biggest problem that day. I was.

The funny story is this: I can follow my rules on paper account, I cannot with real money. Today I still thinking about it, I watched this morning my live account with only 119$ on 4 shitty stocks bought on February. Monday I will restart with my IBKR Paper account and just coded with Claude a python script to automatically manage my position after I entry.
I believe my problem is this: I cannot follow a simple plan: making 10$ per day. Probably I believe it is a negligible amount, and I try to make more assuming more risk with the above results.
This month remember me, again, an hard lesson: **I am not ready to be profitable**.

You can check my post of entry/exit of the last 12 weeks on this subreddit. I day trade options, once a day on ETFs like SPY, QQQ, IWM etc. It took a little time to practice and keep consistent, it was worth the effort for me. Hopefully you get inspired. I will resume posting as I want to grow my account to $60k. Since you have been doing trading and watching the charts for a long time, do ask claude, chatgpt for any tips by providing all the details where you did wrong and what you can improve, it is free, fast and unlimited questions