Amber Hestla

Amber Hestla is Lead Investment Strategist behind Profitable Trading's Income Trader, Profit Amplifier and Maximum Income. She specializes in generating income using options strategies that minimize risk by applying skills she learned on military deployments and intelligence training to the markets.

While deployed overseas with the military, Amber learned the importance of analyzing data to forecast what is likely to happen in the future, a skill she now applies to financial markets. Prior to that, Amber studied risk management working undercover. While risk management is no longer a matter of life and death, she believes it is the most important factor in long-term trading success.

And although she makes her living in the markets, she continues to study the markets and trading daily. Her writing has been featured in trading magazines including the Market Technicians Association newsletter, Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities and Stocks, Futures and Options in the United States, and Shares, a weekly trading magazine published in the United Kingdom.

Analyst Articles

While decorating for Christmas, I noticed how many of our decorations have been around for years. Some of my favorite ornaments are the oldest, like the ones celebrating “Our First Christmas Together” and “Baby’s First Christmas.” These are irreplaceable. Then, there are the more recent additions, decorations that are often based on the latest characters being marketed to my kids. (Although, I will say that some of these new decorations still feel old, like our “Frozen” ornaments. Even though it feels like we’ve already watched it 400 times, that movie was only released four years ago.) —Sponsored Link—… Read More

While decorating for Christmas, I noticed how many of our decorations have been around for years. Some of my favorite ornaments are the oldest, like the ones celebrating “Our First Christmas Together” and “Baby’s First Christmas.” These are irreplaceable. Then, there are the more recent additions, decorations that are often based on the latest characters being marketed to my kids. (Although, I will say that some of these new decorations still feel old, like our “Frozen” ornaments. Even though it feels like we’ve already watched it 400 times, that movie was only released four years ago.) —Sponsored Link— I Stuffed $379,363.80 Into My Retirement Accounts With This… It’s a surprisingly simple investment technique, but it can work wonders for retirees. Free report reveals how to copy this strategy inside your own retirement account. Free report here… There are also old characters that are new again: Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman have been reaching new audiences every year for decades as younger generations of children discover these classics.  This year, there are more new characters. Disney introduced new characters in its latest major theatrical release, “Coco.” Then, there are the old characters… Read More

Professional investors utilize a wide variety of tactics and techniques to manage their portfolios. The specific strategies and methods are often as different and unique as each investor.  However, I have discovered a strategy that is nearly universal to winning stock market investors. This approach is what allows hedge funds,… Read More

Companies hate to cut dividends. Knowing the backlash they’ll get from stockholders, many executives and board members consider it a desperate act of last resort. They will halt non-discretionary expenditures, reduce payroll and overhead, and even take on debt in order to maintain distributions.  And that’s exactly why dividend hikes send such a strong bullish signal. A company wouldn’t bump quarterly payouts to $0.60 per share from $0.50 unless it were fairly certain that incoming cash flows would be more than sufficient to cover the higher dividend, with room to spare. The last thing they want is to raise it… Read More

Companies hate to cut dividends. Knowing the backlash they’ll get from stockholders, many executives and board members consider it a desperate act of last resort. They will halt non-discretionary expenditures, reduce payroll and overhead, and even take on debt in order to maintain distributions.  And that’s exactly why dividend hikes send such a strong bullish signal. A company wouldn’t bump quarterly payouts to $0.60 per share from $0.50 unless it were fairly certain that incoming cash flows would be more than sufficient to cover the higher dividend, with room to spare. The last thing they want is to raise it today only to lower back down tomorrow. A dividend hike is a clear vote of confidence for future success.  —Sponsored Link— He Taught 3rd Graders How To Invest In 3 Easy Steps While financial “experts” use industry jargon to confuse you, one former chemical engineer set out to do something radically different. Using three easy steps, he successfully boiled investing down to a language and a system that even a 3rd-grader can understand. So if an elementary student can learn to use his strategy effectively, imagine the incredible power it could have in your hands…… Read More

The amount of assets invested in exchange-traded funds and other exchange-traded products is on track to overcome the assets invested in active strategies over the next few years, if not sooner. Companies that create, own and manage ETFs — such as my… Read More

As an experienced investor, I know there are times to employ different strategies when buying and selling stocks. Two of my favorite strategies are to buy stocks at deep discounts to their intrinsic values (value investing). I also love to look for stocks at the center of some long-term mega-trend. These stocks I buy and hold for decades. Less commonly, I pay attention to what retail investors (individual investors buying for their personal accounts) are doing. But in today’s market, I’m doing the exact opposite. You see, retail investors often follow the herd mentality and end up buying and selling… Read More

As an experienced investor, I know there are times to employ different strategies when buying and selling stocks. Two of my favorite strategies are to buy stocks at deep discounts to their intrinsic values (value investing). I also love to look for stocks at the center of some long-term mega-trend. These stocks I buy and hold for decades. Less commonly, I pay attention to what retail investors (individual investors buying for their personal accounts) are doing. But in today’s market, I’m doing the exact opposite. You see, retail investors often follow the herd mentality and end up buying and selling stocks at just the wrong times. Many professional investors use a contrarian strategy. That is, they buy when retail investors are selling and sell when the herd is buying.  #-ad_banner-#Now, watching the crowd is not something I spend a lot of time doing. But when certain economic metrics get to extreme levels, it becomes critical to monitor conditions that might indicate retail investors are in full herd mentality. To this point, several metrics are starting to show extreme, or near extreme, levels of greed. This indicates that retail investor sentiment is heating up — potentially indicating that… Read More

Among the many records set by the markets this year, one, in particular, stood out for me — the CBOE Volatility Index, also called the VIX. On July 28, while the decision-making arm of the U.S. Federal Reserve was meeting, this indicator of market volatility hit 9.04, a record low.  It’s not just a large-cap phenomenon. A variety of markets are calmer than normal. The VIX’s small-cap counterpart, called the CBOE Russell 2000 Volatility Index or RVX, is presenting the same picture. As you can see from the chart below, the RVX is also trading at record-low levels these days. … Read More

Among the many records set by the markets this year, one, in particular, stood out for me — the CBOE Volatility Index, also called the VIX. On July 28, while the decision-making arm of the U.S. Federal Reserve was meeting, this indicator of market volatility hit 9.04, a record low.  It’s not just a large-cap phenomenon. A variety of markets are calmer than normal. The VIX’s small-cap counterpart, called the CBOE Russell 2000 Volatility Index or RVX, is presenting the same picture. As you can see from the chart below, the RVX is also trading at record-low levels these days.  —Sponsored Link— The Top Cannabis Stock For 2018 If you thought American pot stocks handed investors big gains… Then you should see what’s about to happen in Canada. Canada is set to legalize recreational marijuana for the entire country… And one little-known Canadian pot stock could soon turn investors in to “marijuana millionaires”. Get the details now… Nobody likes chaos. But these record-beating readings of the VIX and the RVX have many investors scratching their heads. After all, with stocks trading at new highs and expensive valuations, shouldn’t the… Read More

As if the 800-fold increase in the value of one bitcoin from February 2011 to the beginning of 2017 were not enough, the 2,200% surge this year has everyone talking about the cryptocurrency.  Bitcoin could be one of the biggest bubbles in history. But should that stop you from booking outsized returns as the price skyrockets? Cryptocurrencies could very well be the future of digital payments and the blockchain technology has the potential to touch nearly every industry. Trying to time the Bitcoin market, buying in and selling before the inevitable crash, will leave a lot of investors penniless.  But… Read More

As if the 800-fold increase in the value of one bitcoin from February 2011 to the beginning of 2017 were not enough, the 2,200% surge this year has everyone talking about the cryptocurrency.  Bitcoin could be one of the biggest bubbles in history. But should that stop you from booking outsized returns as the price skyrockets? Cryptocurrencies could very well be the future of digital payments and the blockchain technology has the potential to touch nearly every industry. Trying to time the Bitcoin market, buying in and selling before the inevitable crash, will leave a lot of investors penniless.  But there are ways to profit from the bitcoin revolution, a way to ride the wave all the way to the top without having to worry about the crash when it comes. #-ad_banner-#I’ve found three strategies that are benefiting from the herd’s stampede to bitcoin, three industries that could book record revenue and earnings. Each of the industries has other sources of revenue, protecting companies from a disastrous end if sentiment for cryptocurrencies crashes. It’s the long-term way to play one of the fastest bubbles in history. Is Bitcoin A Bubble? Opinions on a fair price for bitcoin and whether… Read More

Last month, we revealed our Top 10 Stocks for 2018.  As you may know, this is one of our most successful annual research reports. It’s also perhaps the most important… this list lays out what we think are the most important traits to look for in a stock in order to be a successful investor over the long run.  —Sponsored Link— Collect A Colossal Payday Thanks To California’s Legal Cannabis We’ve already seen people accumulate massive gains from previous marijuana legalization announcements, but this event is about to blow the lid off of anything we’ve seen so… Read More

Last month, we revealed our Top 10 Stocks for 2018.  As you may know, this is one of our most successful annual research reports. It’s also perhaps the most important… this list lays out what we think are the most important traits to look for in a stock in order to be a successful investor over the long run.  —Sponsored Link— Collect A Colossal Payday Thanks To California’s Legal Cannabis We’ve already seen people accumulate massive gains from previous marijuana legalization announcements, but this event is about to blow the lid off of anything we’ve seen so far. Are you positioned to profit? One penny pot stock expert has narrowed his focus to three tiny California pot stocks expected to explode following legalization. With billions of dollars in revenue projected to flow into this industry, learning how to get in on the ground floor — before these tiny stocks shoot up — is your best shot at life-altering gains. Go here now. We’re confident that this year’s list is poised to perform just as our previous picks — which is no small feat. We’ve bagged winners like the 64.3% return from Mastercard (NYSE:… Read More

Similar to the last issue’s recommendation, my new game-changer is in the business of online security. But its focus is different: it works to enable, secure and protect the use of cloud-based email for corporations or small businesses. While safety is paramount,… Read More