Let’s start with the headline. Today, while NIFTY50 fell around 0.86%, one of my intraday algos quietly did what it was designed to do.
At 11:01 AM, it bought a Put option at ₹52.45.
At 3:17 PM, it exited at ₹128.90 — a 145% return.
(Refer to the attached order book.)
I’m not sharing this to flex. Markets have a way of humbling anyone who gets overconfident. I’m sharing it because this kind of trade only happens when the right strategy is running at the right time — and that’s where having a diversified portfolio of strategies becomes crucial.
Most traders think they’re diversified… but they aren’t
Many traders run what feels like a diversified portfolio — multiple positions, multiple instruments, even multiple timeframes.
But under the hood?
Everything still dances to the same tune: market direction.
Market goes up → they’re green
Market drops → they bleed
It’s essentially a slightly modified mirror of the index.
True diversification happens when your strategies don’t depend on the same market condition to make money. That’s when trading starts to get interesting.
Why this 145% trade actually worked
This trade didn’t succeed because I “guessed the market would fall.” It worked because a strategy engineered for intraday declines was sitting in the background, waiting for its ideal environment. The index falling wasn’t a problem — it was the signal. While other positions might have struggled with the down move, this one woke up because the market dropped. It’s the classic advantage of having systems that thrive under different regimes. And that’s the real takeaway:
When markets shift, at least one strategy in your arsenal should be able to say,
“This is my moment.”
The bigger picture
A diversified portfolio of strategies gives your trading account multiple personalities:
One thrives in trends
One in consolidations
One in spikes
One in crashes
And one — like today — thrives when the market drops sharply
But together, they help keep your P&L smoother, more stable, and less emotional. Today just happened to be the day where the “falling-market strategy” stepped forward — and delivered.