Stephen’s note: Happy Memorial Day! Our office and the markets are closed today, so we’re sharing this important essay from our Chief Trader Justin Spittler.

Justin runs RiskHedge Live, our real-time trading service built around his Super Alert system. Every time Justin makes a trade, members get an instant email alert.

Making money in the market isn’t just about finding great stocks. It’s about managing them correctly through volatility, and knowing when to act.

Here’s Justin with more…

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It’s the American dream…

Buy one all-time great stock early on and get rich.

Amazon (AMZN) is a great example. Say you bought in around 50 cents/share in the late '90s…

Perfectly doable, right? Not that hard to achieve if you’re plugged into the markets every day, or following the guidance of someone who is.

Amazon then soars to $3,000/share. But here’s the departure from reality. Did your money appreciate 150,000%? It almost certainly didn’t even come close.

Because AMZN fell 95% three times on its way to $3,000/share.

Picture it. Assume you had invested $2,000 into Amazon in 1997. It grows to $100,000. You’re feeling great.

Then… it starts to dwindle. $100,000 becomes $75,000… $50,000… $25,0000… $5,000.

Is the average investor, left to his own devices and without proper guidance, really going to hold on to that stock? Doubtful.

He’s going to sell, and he’s going to regret missing out on those life-changing gains.

That’s why I stress the importance of position management in RiskHedge Live, my Super Alert service. Because trading doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

You don’t have to dump your entire position the moment volatility strikes. And you don’t have to sit frozen while the market moves against you.

Instead, you can trim when risks are elevated… and add to your position when conditions improve.

That’s one of the core ideas behind my Super Alert service.

Every time I buy, trim, or exit a position inside RiskHedge Live, members receive a real-time Super Alert showing exactly what I’m doing and why.

That way, they’re not left second-guessing.

Successful trading is about managing positions correctly and controlling risk when conditions change… while still keeping yourself exposed to upside.

That’s the way real professionals profit consistently in the market. And it’s the kind of guidance I share every day inside RiskHedge Live. 

Over the past few years, members have followed me through dozens of winning trades and major market moves in real time.

RiskHedge Live launched in June of 2023. The annualized returns for that partial year were 81%. That’s total return—including all wins and losses.

In 2024, RiskHedge Live returned 48%—nearly double the S&P 500’s gain of 25% that year.

In 2025, members saw a 35% return.

And so far in 2026, members have seen an annualized return of 77%.

Along the way, we’ve locked in gains like: +35% on Viavi Solutions (VIAV)… +24% on Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)… +76% on Lightwave Logic (LWLG)… and +375% on Planet Labs PBC (PL).

Of course, not every trade panned out. We won’t win 100% of the time. The goal is to keep losses manageable while putting yourself in a position to profit when a major trend unfolds in your favor.

That’s where most independent traders struggle.

They go too big when they’re emotional. They freeze during volatility. Or they abandon good positions at exactly the wrong time.

Inside RiskHedge Live, I help members avoid those mistakes through real-time Super Alerts and ongoing market guidance.

Because in the end, long-term success in the market usually comes down to a handful of decisions made during uncomfortable moments.

And those moments are a lot easier to navigate when you have a disciplined framework… and someone helping you stay focused on what actually matters.

If you’d like to soak up my knowledge and experience, trade alongside me, and profit from my recommendations if I’m doing my job well, consider signing up for RiskHedge Live.

See you in the trading room!

Justin Spittler

Chief Trader, RiskHedge