July 2025. This is where the story begins.
THE ACCOUNT JOURNALFIELD NOTES № 001 · SEPTEMBER 2026
A RIVER OF WEALTH CASE STUDY
From $200,000
to $1.1 million.
Fourteen months.
A story worth opening the books for.
In July 2025, Jeff began with $200,000. Follow the put selling, the active management, and the setbacks behind a seven-figure account, documented month by month.
$200,000 in July 2025 → $1,099,680.45 in statement equity on September 30, 2026. Read the source notes.
FROM THE DESK OFJeff CowanFOUNDER & FELLOW INVESTOR
A REAL ACCOUNT, WITH THE DETAILS LEFT IN.THE NUMBERS · THE DECISIONS · THE DOWNSIDE
From the $200,000 start to September’s closing statement equity.
September 30, 2026 · tastytrade monthly statement.
01 / FOLLOW THE CAPITAL
A remarkable result.
An uneven journey.
Fifteen monthly statements. One $200,000 starting point. Follow the gains, the pullback, and the recovery. Select a chapter below or explore the chart one observation at a time.
THE ACCOUNT AT A GLANCE
July 2025 September 2026
5.50×closing equity / starting capital
STARTING CAPITAL · JULY 2025
$200,000
This is where the story begins.
USD · JULY 2025 ONWARD
Loading the account record…
The account starts in July 2025 at $200,000. Select any point to inspect its value and source.
Where the profit
came from.
Follow the dollars from an option premium to a closed trade—or a position still held. Select a source, then a ticker, to open the books.
Follow the bridge to account growth
Calculated at full precision; displayed amounts are rounded. The small unallocated difference is shown separately and is not assigned to a ticker.
Compare every ticker, side by side
How these results are calculated
This is a reconstruction using the earliest available purchase or opening lot first (FIFO), with recorded trade fees included. It explains the account’s economic results; it is not the broker’s tax-lot or tax-return report.
- Closed options: opening and closing cash matched by exact contract, including buybacks, expirations and closed long options. Rolling an option records a close and a new opening.
- Assigned-put premiums: premiums on puts that became share purchases are kept here, separate from closed-option results. The resulting shares retain their strike purchase cost. This presentation avoids counting a premium again through a reduced share cost basis.
- Shares: sale proceeds minus the matched share purchase cost for sold shares; September statement market value minus the remaining purchase cost for shares still held.
- Open options: remaining net opening premium minus the short-option liability on the September statement. These gains can change until the position is closed or expires.
The July 2025 onward execution ledger through September 29 matches all 26 settled September statement positions. September 30 trades listed as pending settlement are excluded from both the position matching and attribution. Account growth continues to use the $200,000 July starting capital and $1,099,680.45 September statement equity.
FIVE MOMENTS IN THE ACCOUNTThe climb. The setback.
The climb. The setback.
The ground gained.
Every large number is the account’s value.
The change—and its comparison point—sits below.Select a chapter to explore it on the chart.
The starting capital is Jeff’s specified baseline. Later values are month-end statement equity, including open-position gains and losses. “A new high” refers to the monthly statement record.
TOTAL GROWTH FROM THE $200K START+$899,680.45
September’s $1,099,680.45 equity, less the starting capital.
CUMULATIVE RETURN FROM THE START+449.84%
July 2025 → September 2026. Includes open-position valuations.
JULY 2025 → SEPTEMBER 2026About 14 months
The period covered by this case study.
The story starts at $200,000.
July 2025 is the starting point for this case study. Every cumulative return on this page uses that same $200,000 base, so the progress is easy to follow.
Recovered ground. Then new ground.
July’s $175,513 decline was followed by a $290,571 rise in August. That put the account $115,058 above June’s previous month-end high. These are changes in account equity; the monthly record does not show the worst daily drawdown.
02 / WHAT THE RECORD REVEALS
A repeatable process.
Real obligations.
The transaction record is dominated by selling puts and buying them back. The statements also show share holdings and margin borrowing.
Write the put.
Receive a premium in exchange for the obligation to buy shares at the strike if assigned. The option buy/sell activity in this case study is entirely in puts.
Manage the position.
The sell-to-open and buy-to-close entries show substantial active management. A buyback can lock in a gain, realize a loss, or form part of a roll.
Follow it through.
Positions may close, expire, or be assigned. An option premium only tells part of the story; share exposure and remaining liabilities matter too.
THE TRADING MIX
Where the activity
was concentrated.
Share of option fill rows by underlying since July 2025. This measures activity, not portfolio weight or profit.
Borrowing was part of this account.
The July 2026 statement shows a $148,558 margin debit; August shows $80,831. September closed with $31,732 in positive cash, alongside substantial open positions. Borrowing increases exposure, adds interest cost, and can force difficult decisions when markets move.
The exposure behind the result · September balance sheet +
LONG SHARES & ETFs$1,209,670
SHORT OPTION LIABILITIES−$141,722
CASH+$31,732
NET ACCOUNT EQUITY$1,099,680
Rounded values from the September 30 statement. NVDA and MU shares alone represented 83.39% of net equity, before option exposure. The other long holdings were DRAM and BOXX.
The September statement confirms 225 open short puts across 22 contract series, with $5,767,500 in gross strike-price share-purchase obligations if all are assigned. This is not maximum loss or current margin requirement.
03 / OPEN THE TRADE NOTES
The decisions
behind the numbers.
Inspect a positive result, a negative result, and an assignment. These are selected individual contract histories, not the account’s overall return.
Opening the trade notes…
Examples illustrate contract mechanics. A profitable or losing leg can be part of a larger strategy. They do not establish a strategy win rate.
04 / THE OPEN LEDGER
Curiosity deserves
the details.
Explore the supplementary execution ledger from July 2025 through September 29, 2026, with private account identifiers removed. Each row is a fill or account event; several rows can belong to one trade.
EXPLORE
| Date | Underlying / instrument | Activity | Quantity | Cash movement | Fee (included) |
|---|
Trade cash includes recorded trading fees. Interest and paper-confirmation expenses use statement-confirmed signs; the download also preserves original export amounts. Cash movements are not profit. Assignment rows do not show the full share transaction.
05 / THE SOURCE NOTES
Good questions.
Open books.
The strength of a case study is knowing what the evidence can—and cannot—tell you.
Download analysis notesHow are the returns calculated?+
The case study begins with the $200,000 starting capital Jeff specified for July 2025. Cumulative return is (account value − $200,000) ÷ $200,000. At September 30, 2026 statement equity of $1,099,680.45, that is a $899,680.45 increase, or +449.84%, over about 14 months. This is the cumulative change from the stated starting point, not an annualized rate.
Which numbers are backed by statements?+
Every monthly closing value from July 2025 through September 2026 comes from the broker’s Total Equity Holdings figure. Fifteen monthly statements trace the account to $1,099,680.45. The $200,000 starting capital remains the baseline you see throughout the story; July’s separate month-end statement closes at $199,164.98. The statements also support the latest holdings, interest expenses, and selected trade checks.
Why show a cumulative return instead of a win rate?+
Cumulative return follows the whole account from its $200,000 starting point. A trade win rate would require combining separate option legs and any assigned shares into complete strategies. Monthly observations also cannot establish the worst daily drawdown. The chart therefore keeps account returns, month-to-month changes, and individual trade results distinct.
How were the records analyzed?+
Monthly broker statements establish account values and holdings. The supplementary CSV ledger covers July 2025 through September 29, 2026. Trading fees are already included in buy/sell cash amounts. Individual put histories are grouped by contract; assignment proceeds are separated from share outcomes. Account numbers, activity identifiers, and external references are removed from this page and its downloads.
What else matters when reading this account?+
The account held positions, used margin, and experienced substantial declines. Open option premiums are accompanied by obligations. Account equity comes from monthly statements and includes the value of open positions. The execution ledger is a supplementary record, not a daily equity history. These results describe one historical account, not a typical member outcome or a promise of future returns. Options and margin can produce substantial losses.
Is membership about copying these trades?+
Membership offers education, weekly calls, River Edge, and a community to help you understand investments and their risks. These historical transactions are material for study. They are not current trade recommendations, and joining does not imply similar results.
YOUR GUIDE ON THE RIVERJeff Cowan
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