Click the appropriate FAQ section that is most relevant to you

Rules and Play Guide Glossary of Terms Frequently Asked Questions

About the Game

Before you start playing the game, it is advisable to read the Rules and Play Guide.

The eBook "The Amazing Cash Cows and their Golden Milk" by Peter Spann will also answer many questions you may have.

Glossary of Terms

Cows Cows are Shares. A selection of Cows are available to buy each month. These are Companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange
Milk Milk is the Premium you are paid when you sell Calls
Cash Cow Circle The forum players are called to on a regular basis to discuss the strategy for the month
Tournament The Cash Cow Game played on this site
Buy-Write The Buy-Write is an Options strategy that involves Buying a share and Writing a Call
Premium The amount of money you receive when you write (sell) a call
Exercise Price The price at which an option can be exercised at the expiry date
Exercise The right of the option owner (buyer) to purchase the underlying share at the Exercise price
Expiry The date on which an option expires and can be exercised

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How much money do I need to play to game?

A. You can play the Cash Cow game for $998. This gives you 12 months membership and full use of the trading features and forum. When you sign up you will receive CASH COW $100,000.00 on your account to use in the game and $1,000.00 will be credited to a Excela Equities account if you choose to open one.

Q. Do I need to be experienced with the sharemarket or options?

No. The Cash Cow Game is designed to provide you with a safe, interactive, fun environment in which to learn and master the buy-write strategy. You are encouraged to use the forum to ask all your questions and our stockbrokers will be sure to respond to your questions quickly and comprehensively. If you like, you can visit the forum area before you start playing - this will give you a lot of information as other players may have already asked some of your questions.

Q. What if I lose all my money before my time us up?

A. It is highly unlikely that any of the shares in the game will become worthless. This means that if you are playing the game properly (buying shares and writing calls) then even if your trades are costing you money (rather than generating income), you will notice your account moving down in value quite slowly and you will have time to ask for help before you lose all your money.

We recommend you read the eBook before you start playing and be sure you understand the strategy. Just as there are ways to make mistakes in the real world, you can make simple mistakes in the game too. The most common, costly mistake isbuyinga call when you mean to sell one.

The Cash Cow game is designed to help you first and foremost so we'll do our best to correct a trade you may have made by mistake or to help out along the way. If you find you are losing money or feeling confused about what to do along the way, you should ask for help and one of our brokers can review your transactions and help you implement the strategy more successfully. If you have made a trade in error and wish to reverse it, you should contact us immediately so we can try to reverse your transaction.

Of course if there is a mistakecaused by the system, any cost of this will be reversed.

Q. What are the forums for?

The forum is a critical part of the game. This is where you can ask questions (there are no silly questions - everyone is learning) and also help your fellow players. Inside the forum, you will find lots of information on how to select good shares for the Cash Cow strategy, advice from Peter Spann and the Stockbrokers on what to do at critical times in the strategy and answers to questions other people have asked about the game.

Q. Can I see inside the forum or the game before I join?

A. No. these areas are for players only. The forum and game is a safe place for players to learn and master the strategy so only registered players can access these areas. When you register to play, you will have full access to these areas. The game area shows your account. Starting with MOO$100,000, you can buy and sell shares, write your calls and purchase puts. Your game dashboard shows your transactions and current account details. Inside the forum you will see a number of topics and posts - most of them are based around the strategy for each month - which shares, which calls and the rationale behind selction.

Q. Why Cash Cows?

Peter Spann developed the parable of “The Amazing Cash Cows and their Golden Milk” to help people understand a simple but profitable cash flow strategy known as “Covered Calls” or the “Buy Write” which uses a combination of shares and options to generate monthly income.

He found that many people were intimidated by shares and options but they more readily understood the strategy when they had something unthreatening to relate it to.

The idea of milking the cows came from one of Peter’s early clients who was a dairy farmer. He commented that regularly writing covered calls was just like milking cows except it was a lot less work and a lot more profitable!
And so the Cash Cows were born.

Peter has been teaching the strategy to investors since the early 90’s and since then thousands of people have used the strategy to increase the performance and yield from their share portfolio.

Q. What Is The Cash Cow Strategy?

A. The Cash Cow / Buy Write strategy is an easy to learn highly effective strategy for increasing yield and decreasing the risk of owning a blue chip share portfolio.

Cash Cows are shares and their milk is the premium that can be generated by writing covered calls against them.
A Covered Call is selling the right to purchase your shares at a higher price than they are today on or before a date in the future (usually 1 month).

In return for this you receive payment called a premium.

Deliberately buying shares with the sole intention to write calls against them is called a “Buy Write”.

Shares are bought and sold through brokers who help you to buy the shares and sell options.

There are many optional shares in the Australian market ranging from as little as $3 to over $50.

If the share goes up above the agreed price you sell it at a profit.

There are strategies you can use to keep the shares if need be and these will all be explained in the seminar.

The risks are similar to but generally less than just owning shares.The strategy does require practice but is easy to learn and implement - the Cash Cow Game has been designed to help you do this.

Q. Who is Peter Spann?

A. Peter Spann is the founder and CEO of financial services firm Freeman Fox which was established in 1987 and listed in BRW as the 41st fastest growing privately owned company in Australia in 2008.

Freeman Fox Ltd (ABN 17 010 763 041) is an Australian Financial Services License holder (AFSLN 246510) of which Peter is an Authorized Representative.

Peter and his firm help everyday Australian’s manage their investments and he advises on over $1 Billion in clients’ investments and personally trades a share and option portfolio of over $10 million.

He strives to help make investing simple to understand and easy to achieve. He commenced trading options in the ‘80s and started teaching options trading in the early 90’s. His seminars have been attended by over 250,000 people worldwide. We doubt if there is a more experienced educator on the topic in Australia today.

He is a Director of the ASX Listed Investment Company Excela Limited, is listed in ‘Who’s Who’ Queensland Edition, and his charity, Fox Smile helps underprivileged children with health and education.  Peter serves as Chief Investment Officer and Fund Manager for 4 Managed Funds, Generator, Emergent, Maximiser and the Managed Options Opportunities Fund.

His view on the Economy and Share market has been sought by magazines, newspapers, television, CEO’s and everyday people and his predictions are known to be uncannily accurate including the late 90’s / early 2000’s property boom, the transition to the share market boom, the rise of Gold prices and the US Credit Crisis.

His bestselling book “Wealth Magic” has been translated into seven languages, and his other books are “How to Build a $10 Million Property Portfolio in 10 Years” and “Little Pot of Gold”.

He is well known for his inspirational seminars and films on life success, wealth creation and personal development. His goal is to help people reach their full potential.

Q. Why can I only buy calls when I know I need to sell them?

A. The game will not permit you to sell a call if you haven’t purchased the underlying share yet. The Buy-Write strategy requires you to first BUY the stock and then WRITE the call.

Q. How do I get my free brokerage?

A. When you register for the game you are immediately eligible for a Excela Equities account with $1,000 in free brokerage already credited. To use your credit, simply ask us for an account application and we will credit your account. Allow up to 21 days for your account to be activated and ready to use.

Q. Do I get the free brokerage if I am already a Excela Equities client?

A. Absolutely!The Moo Team advise the Excela Equities team of new players each month. When they see you already have an account, they will credit your $1,000 in broking to that account.

Q. Can I use my $1000 broking credit in other account names like my Super account or a company name?

A. Yes. You just need to let us know this is what you'd like to do. If you already have accounts with Excela Equities, just contact your broker to credit your chosen accounts. If you are opening a new account, simply apply in the name of the entity(s) you would like to receive the credit. You may need to complete more than one account application.

Q. How long can I play for?

A. Your subscription gives you full access to the game for 12 months.

Q. Can I use my free brokerage before my subscription is up?

Yes. You can choose to implement the Buy-Write any time you like.

Q. Will my free brokerage expire?

A. Yes – at the end of your subscription, but as long as you actually open your account before your subscription runs out, you will have your $1,000 in free brokerage to use any time you like.

Q. Who does the Cash Cow Strategy suit?

A. The Cash Cow (Buy-Write) Strategy suits investors who are comfortable investing in shares and want to increase returns and reduce risk. To do it properly you should be prepared to allocate a couple of hours throughout the month to the strategy and consistently do this each and every month.

Q. Do I need charting software to play?

A. No. You will notice the Stockbrokers referring to charts in the forum from time to time but you don't need to do any complex charting yourself to implement the strategy. Charts are helpful in determining the shares and the options you select each month but the free charts available on the ASX website are adequate for this. The brokers can help you interpret them.

Q. How much would I need to implement the Buy-Write in the real world?

A. This depends on your level of confidence and experience. You may start implementing the Buy-Write on some of the cheaper stocks quite quickly if you would like to practice in the market before committing larger amounts. At the moment, you could start with around $10,000. To execute the strategy on the bigger stocks, you'll need around $25,000+.

Q. Is this different to paper trading?

A. Yes. Although you play for Cash Cow Dollars, the game is more realistic than paper trading and rather than learn in isolation, you can get advice and feedback along the way so you're more likely to learn faster. Plus... you receive $1,000 free brokerage!

Q. What if I can't make it to the forums or chat sessions on time?

A. That's OK. You can post a question (or read over old forums) any time of the day or night. The brokers are always monitoring forum posts and will usually reply quite quickly.