Why Listening to the Bears This Holiday Season Could Cost You

Some Wall Street analysts make a career out of being bearish. These "Chicken Littles" of the investment world are always worried about something. Politics, economics, China trade, an aging bull market, the weather – you name it, they always have something bad to say.

It's a great thing to be mindful of risk when investing. But living in constant fear of downside could keep you from succeeding in the greatest bull market of all time.

In fact, December could be the most profitable month of the year. And there are options trading strategies you can use to take advantage of that.

Last year, around this time, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) top strategist Mike Wilson predicted the S&P 500 would end 2019 at 2,750. It closed Tuesday at 3,141. And now, he's also looking forward to a loss in 2020, a 4.3% slide to an even 3,000.

Looking even farther back, Marc Faber, Editor of the Boom, Gloom & Doom Report, warned investors in June 2017 that the stock market was going to plunge 40%. To be fair, he said it would "lurch" higher first. But the S&P 500 rallied from 2,423 to 2,872 – that's 18.5% – over the next seven months.

That's some lurch.

And after a correction of 8.8%, the market went on to even higher highs in September 2018.

Of course, some options strategies can even be profitable if the markets go down. But the economy shows no signs of slowing anytime soon. And that's even better news for options traders.

Our research is showing something completely different for the second half of December, and you won't be seeing it on TV or in the newspapers. It's even zoomed in on four companies that could benefit the most…

Why the Santa Claus Rally Is Perfect for Options Trades