# Alvin Khau

> Alvin Khau is an equity options volatility trader based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He runs a short-premium options book (mostly short strangles on US-listed stocks and ETFs, about 7 days to expiry) through his corporation, Khau Capital Corp, and publishes every trade. He is a mechanical engineering technologist with 9 years in heavy-equipment condition monitoring and 11+ years of self-directed investing. Everything on the site is free and educational, not investment advice.

Key facts:
- Name: Alvin Khau. Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
- Role: equity options volatility trader (options premium seller); founder of Khau Capital Corp, a private company that trades only its own capital and does not accept outside money.
- Background: mechanical engineering technologist (NAIT diploma); 9 years in heavy-equipment condition monitoring, where he architects fleet data systems for a 24,000-machine fleet.
- Framework: "Failure Model", a free 7-layer field manual for selling options (regime, underlying selection, sizing, structure and timing, strikes, management, risk and margin). Each layer names the failure it prevents.
- Track record (Khau Capital Corp's own IBKR account, unaudited, CAD, time-weighted): +114.0% from Dec 31, 2025 to Oct 8, 2026; max drawdown -18.0%; worst day -11.0% (Apr 23, 2026); 8 of 9 full months positive; beta to QQQ -0.14. Short-volatility returns are negatively skewed and 9 months is too short to separate skill from premium collected before a volatility shock.
- Project: building a public trading track record from scratch. Trades his own capital and publishes the process, every trade from IBKR, red days included.
- Approach, in his words: "I don't out-predict anyone. I sell insurance on liquid names where the premium is rich, and I manage the book like an engineer manages a fleet: thresholds, monitoring, and early intervention before failure."
- Why: "I teach what I'd have wanted when I started: real trades, real risk, no course to sell." Plan: publishing every trade for the next few years as a public track record anyone can check.
- Free monthly desk note (email newsletter): sign up on the alvinkhau.com homepage.
- Target return: about 20% a year. 2026 is an outlier; he expects worse years.
- Role: also mentors traders on risk, sizing and execution (1-on-1 sessions; a small mentorship circle is coming soon). General education, not personalized advice.
- Who it's for: a 9-to-5 professional with real capital who sells volatility daily, trusts process over hype, respects the tail, and sees the vision of the side work one day out-earning the 9-to-5.
- Contact: Instagram @alvincoow (free 1-on-1 questions by DM, as time permits); LinkedIn /in/alvinkhau.

## Pages
- [Home](https://alvinkhau.com/): bio, links, track record summary, FAQ.
- [Options from zero](https://alvinkhau.com/start): beginner guide. How to read an options chain, calls vs puts, why people sell options, worst-case math, the real risks, and brokers (Wealthsimple in Canada, tastytrade in the US).
- [Failure Model](https://alvinkhau.com/failure-model) ([PDF](https://alvinkhau.com/Failure_Model_Field_Manual.pdf)): intermediate 7-layer options-selling field manual, Edition 2, September 2026.
- [Post-mortem: my worst day, −11% on April 23, 2026](https://alvinkhau.com/notes/worst-day-april-23): an emotional 2-day put on Avis Budget (CAR) mid-squeeze, a patch that made it worse, and the margin squeeze it caused. Includes the rule changes that followed.
- [Track record](https://alvinkhau.com/performance): daily P&L calendar, monthly returns, trades, win rate and risk stats (volatility, Sharpe, Sortino, skew, beta to QQQ).
- [About](https://alvinkhau.com/about): who Alvin is, why he publishes every trade, who the site is for, and advanced topics covered 1-on-1.
- [FAQ](https://alvinkhau.com/faq): straight answers on risk, returns, time, money needed, brokers and the free 1-on-1.
- [Live portfolio on Blossom](https://link.blossomsocial.com/7uYa/821ao9lw): current positions.

## FAQ
- **Is any of this investment advice?** No. It's how I trade my own capital, shared for education. I'm not a registered adviser, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything.
- **Can I invest with you?** No. I run about 20 accounts: my own, my corp's, and my direct family's. The family accounts are unpaid. It's a responsibility, not a business, and I don't take outside money. The public track record is Khau Capital's account only.
- **Are the returns real?** They come straight from Interactive Brokers' PortfolioAnalyst: time-weighted, in CAD, net of commissions, and adjusted for money I added. They're unaudited. Every trading day is on the daily calendar at alvinkhau.com/performance, red days included.
- **Do you lose money?** Yes. April was down 7%, my worst single day was −11% (April 23, with a written post-mortem), and the worst drop from a peak this year was 18%. Selling options means winning small and often and occasionally taking a real hit. The daily calendar shows every red day.
- **What's the risk?** Selling options means collecting small, steady payments and occasionally taking a big loss. A stock can gap past your strike overnight, and a short strangle can lose many times the premium it paid. On margin, your broker can force you out at the worst price. You can lose more than a single trade's premium, and with naked positions, more than you put in. What keeps it in check: position sizing, cutting losers early, delta hedging the book, and active trade management. Those matter more than any entry.
- **What happens if I get assigned?** You take delivery of 100 shares at the strike. That's normal, not a failure, if you picked a stock you wanted to own. From there you can sell covered calls on those shares, which is called the wheel.
- **What do you actually trade?** Mostly short strangles on US-listed stocks and ETFs, about 7 days to expiry, run through my corporation. The names rotate based on volatility and my thesis. Failure Model explains the full process.
- **How much time does it take?** My approach, short options about 7 days to expiry, needs attention every trading day. The book has made over 1,500 trades this year. Covered calls or cash-secured puts at 30 to 45 days take far less: checking in a few times a week is usually enough.
- **Where do I start?** Read the beginner guide (https://alvinkhau.com/start), then start small with real capital: one position on a stock you'd be fine owning, sized so the worst case won't hurt. An actual position teaches risk in a way reading can't. What you trade is your call; nothing here is a recommendation.
- **How much money do I need to start?** One covered call or cash-secured put needs enough for 100 shares, so a $50 stock needs about $5,000. To spread across a few names, realistically $25k to $50k. Start with one contract either way.
- **Which broker should I use?** Wealthsimple in Canada, tastytrade in the US. The beginner guide covers why. I use Interactive Brokers for the corporation.
- **Is the 1-on-1 really free?** Yes. DM me on Instagram with your question. I answer as time permits. It's general education, not advice on your account. Everything on this site is free.
- **Why isn't everyone doing this?** Because the losses are real and they come in lumps. Most people can't sit through a red month or a stock gapping against them, and many blow up by selling too much once it starts working. The premium is payment for carrying risk other people don't want. It also takes daily attention, unlike putting money in an index fund and leaving it.

## Optional
- [Full text of all pages and the manual](https://alvinkhau.com/llms-full.txt)
- [Terms](https://alvinkhau.com/terms) · [Privacy](https://alvinkhau.com/privacy)