Tracking individual transactions is essential for options traders, but understanding overall portfolio performance requires higher-level metrics. Return on investment (ROI), annualized returns, weekly averages, and projections toward income goals transform raw transaction data into actionable insights about strategy effectiveness.
The MyATMM Dashboard Projections tab consolidates these performance metrics into a single view. Rather than manually calculating returns across multiple positions and time periods, the platform automatically computes ROI, projects annualized performance, calculates average weekly income, and determines the capital required to reach target annual salary goals based on current performance trends.
This article walks through each metric displayed on the Projections tab, explains how the calculations work, demonstrates how to set custom income goals, and shows how these forward-looking projections help option sellers evaluate strategy effectiveness and plan portfolio growth toward specific financial objectives.
The Projections tab begins with several foundational metrics that appear elsewhere in the MyATMM platform. These provide context for the more advanced calculations that follow.
Total capital deposited into your brokerage account over the entire tracking period. This represents the total cash you've transferred in to fund trading activities. It forms the denominator for ROI calculations and determines the baseline from which returns are measured.
The current amount of buying power committed to active positions. For cash-secured puts, this equals the strike price times 100 per contract. For covered calls, it represents the market value of shares against which calls are sold. This metric shows how much of your capital is currently deployed versus sitting idle.
Total dollar amount spent purchasing shares through option assignments or direct stock purchases. This differs from deposits because it represents capital allocated to specific equity positions rather than total cash added to the account. The difference between deposits and stocks purchased shows remaining cash available for new positions.
The combination of realized and unrealized gains and losses across all positions. This includes both stock position appreciation/depreciation and all premium collected from closed option positions. It represents the total change in account value from trading activities, excluding deposits and withdrawals.
These four metrics establish your current account status: how much you deposited, how much is deployed, what you spent on shares, and what you've gained or lost overall. The advanced calculations build on this foundation.
ROI measures the percentage return generated by premium collection relative to total deposits. The calculation is straightforward: total credits received divided by total deposits, expressed as a percentage.
Total Deposits: $50,000
Total Credits (Premium) Collected: $3,500
ROI: ($3,500 ÷ $50,000) × 100 = 7.0%
This ROI percentage represents the total return from option premium since you began tracking transactions. It answers the question: "What percentage return have I generated through premium collection on the capital I've deposited?"
The Projections tab ROI focuses specifically on premium collected from selling options—not total account value changes. This design choice reflects the platform's core focus: tracking income from systematic option selling strategies.
For traders running covered call and cash-secured put strategies, premium collection represents the primary income source. Share price appreciation is secondary (and often uncertain). By isolating premium-based ROI, you can evaluate strategy effectiveness independent of market direction.
A 7% ROI from premium collection means you've collected $7,000 in option income for every $100,000 deposited, regardless of whether underlying stock positions are up or down. This metric directly measures income generation effectiveness.
As noted in the platform, ROI fluctuates as you collect more premium and as deposits change. Each new option sold increases the numerator (total credits). Any new capital deposits increase the denominator (total deposits), temporarily lowering ROI percentage until additional premium is collected on that new capital.
This dynamic nature means ROI is a snapshot of cumulative performance at the current moment—not a static achievement. Consistent premium collection gradually increases ROI over time as credits accumulate.
While total ROI shows cumulative returns, annualized ROI projects what that performance would yield over a full year. This standardized metric enables comparison across different time periods and different strategies.
MyATMM calculates annualized ROI by determining how many days have passed since your first transaction, then scaling your cumulative ROI to an annual rate. The platform uses a minimum of 30 days for this calculation to prevent unrealistic annualized figures from brief tracking periods.
Total ROI: 7.0%
Days Tracked: 120 days (4 months)
Annualized ROI: (7.0% ÷ 120 days) × 365 days = 21.3%
In this example, collecting 7% ROI over four months projects to approximately 21% annualized return if that pace continues. This standardized metric allows you to evaluate whether your strategy is on track to meet annual income goals.
The 30-day minimum prevents misleading annualized figures during the first month of tracking. If you collect $500 in premium on $10,000 in capital during your first week (5% ROI in 7 days), naive annualization would suggest 260% annual returns—clearly unsustainable.
By enforcing a 30-day minimum, the platform ensures annualized ROI reflects at least one full month of performance, providing more realistic projections even during the initial tracking period.
Annualized ROI represents performance velocity—the speed at which you're generating returns through premium collection. High annualized ROI (20%+) indicates aggressive premium collection, possibly through higher-risk strategies or fortunate timing. Moderate annualized ROI (10-15%) suggests conservative systematic approaches. Lower figures may indicate capital inefficiency or overly cautious strike selection.
Most importantly, annualized ROI provides the key input for target balance calculations: if your current pace generates 20% annualized returns, you can project how much capital you need to reach specific annual income goals.
For traders focused on generating regular income through weekly option strategies, average weekly premium collection provides a more intuitive performance metric than annualized percentages. This number answers: "How much am I making per week on average?"
MyATMM calculates average weekly income by dividing total premium collected by the number of weeks that have passed since your first transaction. This provides a simple dollar-value metric that's easy to track and understand.
Total Premium Collected: $3,500
Weeks Tracked: 16 weeks (approximately 4 months)
Average Weekly Income: $3,500 ÷ 16 weeks = $218.75/week
This trader has averaged approximately $219 in weekly premium collection over the tracking period. This metric directly shows weekly income generation from the options strategy.
Many option sellers focus on weekly expirations and weekly income generation. Tracking weekly average premium provides immediate feedback on strategy effectiveness without requiring percentage calculations or annualization conversions.
If your goal is $500/week in options income, seeing a $219 average immediately shows you're currently at approximately 44% of target. If that average grows to $450/week over the next quarter, you know you're approaching your weekly income objective.
The displayed average represents total premium divided by total weeks—not necessarily what you're currently generating in recent weeks. Early periods with lower premium collection can drag down the average even as recent performance improves.
Use this metric to track long-term trends rather than week-to-week fluctuations. If the average steadily increases over months, your strategy is becoming more effective or your capital deployment is growing.
The most powerful feature of the Projections tab is goal-based capital projection. By entering a target annual income, the platform calculates how much capital you need to reach that goal based on your current performance trends.
The platform defaults to a $175,000 annual income target. This represents a professional-level trading income goal that many systematic option sellers aspire to generate from their strategies. The default provides a meaningful baseline, but the real power comes from customizing this target to your personal goals.
The target balance calculation uses your current annualized ROI to determine required capital. If you're generating 20% annualized ROI, reaching $175,000 in annual premium income requires $875,000 in deployed capital (because $875,000 × 20% = $175,000).
Target Annual Income: $175,000
Current Annualized ROI: 20%
Required Capital: $175,000 ÷ 0.20 = $875,000
The platform then compares this target balance to your current deposits to determine how much additional capital is needed. If you currently have $50,000 deposited, you need another $825,000 to reach the target balance at current performance levels.
Based on your average weekly income and the capital gap between current and target balance, MyATMM projects how many days it will take to accumulate the required additional capital. This projection assumes you reinvest all premium collected and continue generating the same average weekly income.
The platform displays both the total number of days and breaks it down into years, months, and days for easier interpretation. It also shows the target hit date—the calendar date when you would reach the goal if current trends continue.
Current Balance: $50,000
Target Balance: $875,000
Capital Needed: $825,000
Average Weekly Income: $219
Weeks to Save $825,000: $825,000 ÷ $219/week = 3,767 weeks
Timeline: Approximately 72.4 years
This example reveals an important reality: reaching substantial annual income goals through premium reinvestment alone typically requires either decades of time, much higher average weekly income, or additional capital deposits to accelerate growth.
You can change the target annual salary directly on the Projections tab. Simply enter your desired annual income (for example, $100,000, $75,000, or $50,000), and all projections recalculate immediately based on the new target.
This real-time adjustment lets you explore different scenarios: How much capital is needed for $50,000/year? What about $100,000? How do those timelines compare? The dynamic calculations help you set realistic goals based on current performance and available capital.
Target Annual Income: $75,000
Current Annualized ROI: 20%
Required Capital: $75,000 ÷ 0.20 = $375,000
Current Balance: $50,000
Additional Capital Needed: $325,000
Lowering the target to $75,000 reduces required capital by more than half compared to the $175,000 goal, making the objective much more achievable in a reasonable timeframe.
While you can adjust the target directly on the Projections tab, it resets to the default $175,000 when you navigate away and return. To permanently save a custom target, use the Preferences page.
On the Preferences page, locate the target annual salary field (which shows $0 by default), enter your desired annual income goal, and click save. Once saved, this custom target becomes your new default and will display automatically whenever you access the Projections tab.
This saved preference persists across all sessions, ensuring your projections consistently use your actual income goal rather than the platform default.
The Projections tab metrics work together to provide comprehensive performance insight and strategic planning capabilities. Understanding how to interpret these metrics in combination reveals whether your current approach is sustainable and scalable.
Compare your annualized ROI to industry benchmarks and alternative investment returns. A 20% annualized ROI from systematic option selling significantly outperforms most traditional investment strategies, suggesting your approach is working effectively. Lower annualized ROI (5-8%) may indicate overly conservative positioning or capital inefficiency.
Track how annualized ROI changes over time. If it increases as you refine strategy or gain experience, you're improving execution. If it declines over months, either market conditions have become less favorable or your approach needs adjustment.
The target balance calculation reveals scalability constraints. If reaching your income goal requires $800,000+ in capital but you currently have $50,000, the goal may not be achievable through trading returns alone within a reasonable timeframe.
This reality check helps set realistic expectations. You might need to:
Monitor these metrics monthly to see progress trends:
If these metrics stagnate or decline over several months, it signals the need to evaluate what's changed—reduced trading activity, less favorable market conditions, or shifts in strategy execution.
Use the metrics to compare options trading returns against alternative approaches:
These comparisons help determine whether the time and effort invested in active options trading delivers sufficient value versus more passive investment approaches.
Calculating these metrics manually requires significant spreadsheet complexity—multiple formulas tracking dates, totals, deposit history, and time-weighted calculations. The Projections tab eliminates this complexity by automating all calculations based on your transaction history.
Every transaction you log updates all projection metrics instantly. Sell a new covered call for $50 premium, and your total ROI, annualized ROI, average weekly income, and timeline to goal all recalculate automatically. No manual formula updates, no spreadsheet maintenance—just accurate real-time projections.
Manual calculations often involve inconsistent methods—using different date ranges, forgetting commissions, or applying varying formulas over time. The platform uses consistent calculation methodology for all metrics across all time periods, ensuring apples-to-apples comparisons when reviewing historical performance.
Building equivalent projection capabilities in a spreadsheet would require hours of initial setup and ongoing maintenance. The Projections tab provides this intelligence immediately upon logging your first transaction, with zero configuration required. The time savings compound over months and years of active trading.
Because MyATMM is a web application, your projection metrics are accessible from any device with internet access. Review your annualized ROI from your phone, check average weekly income from a tablet, or explore different target scenarios from any computer—all without email spreadsheet attachments or file synchronization headaches.
The MyATMM Projections tab converts transaction-level data into strategic performance intelligence. ROI shows cumulative returns, annualized ROI reveals performance velocity, average weekly income tracks cashflow generation, and target-based projections demonstrate capital requirements for specific income goals.
Together, these metrics answer the most important strategic questions for systematic option sellers: Is my strategy generating competitive returns? How do current returns project to annual figures? What's my average weekly income? How much capital do I need to reach my income goals?
The goal-setting functionality transforms abstract performance percentages into concrete capital requirements and timelines. Want to generate $75,000 per year from options trading? The platform tells you exactly how much capital that requires at your current performance level and projects when you might reach that capital level based on current premium collection rates.
This forward-looking intelligence enables realistic goal setting and strategic planning. Rather than guessing whether your current approach will eventually generate desired income levels, you can see mathematically whether your goals are achievable, overly ambitious, or actually quite conservative given current performance.
Most importantly, these metrics update automatically as you trade. No manual calculations, no spreadsheet formulas, no inconsistent methodologies. Log transactions, and the Projections tab handles all performance analysis—continuously, accurately, and consistently.
For option sellers focused on systematic income generation, the Projections tab provides the essential performance dashboard that connects day-to-day trading activity to long-term income objectives. Use it regularly to track progress, adjust goals, and ensure your strategy remains on track to deliver the returns you expect from your options trading efforts.
Options trading involves significant risk and is not suitable for all investors. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The projections and calculations shown on the Projections tab are based on historical returns and do not guarantee future income levels or timeline achievements.
Annualized ROI projections assume consistent performance that may not be sustainable during different market conditions. Target balance calculations show required capital based on current returns but do not account for market volatility, strategy changes, or varying premium collection rates over time.
This content is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice or a recommendation to implement any particular trading strategy or target any specific income goal.
MyATMM automatically calculates ROI, annualized returns, weekly averages, and capital requirements for your income targets. Stop guessing at performance—get accurate projections.
Track up to 3 tickers completely free. No credit card required.
Start Tracking Your Returns TodaySet your income goals and see exactly what it takes to reach them