AskLex — Ep. 01 | Automated Options Trading—Without the Code — Marcus McDonnell, JTNC Published: January 30, 2026 | Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csz8emjEgwE Host: Lex Gauzen (Tradier) | Guest: Marcus McDonnell (Executive VP, JTNC) Duration: 26:51 --- Automation, AI, bots — the wave of the future for retail traders. Marcus McDonnell joins us today on Lex Appeal TV. He's executive VP of JTNC, a firm that entered the retail space after being in the hedge fund business for 12 years. Let's meet Marcus and chat about their automation product after the bell. Marcus, good to see you. I know we did a short together before. Always exciting to talk about products, especially AI, automation, bots. I kind of lump all that together, even though it's not. You're going to explain the difference to us. We want to know all about you and all about JTNC and the partnership with Tradier. >> That sounds fantastic to me, Lex. I've been looking forward to our conversation and being on your show. >> Good. Tell us a little bit about yourself first and about JTNC. My background — I was a VP of technology. I worked in technology for about three decades. I'm officially a nerd. Then I started trading part-time about eight years ago and moved to full-time the last four years. Also taught an academy for five years teaching people how to trade stocks and options and cryptocurrency. >> And how did you get hooked in with JTNC? Does that stand for something? Yeah, Just Trade No Compromise. It's kind of a catchy name. I was on a consulting gig and met JTNC because we were marketing their products. They had an algorithm product in the retail space, been there for almost two years now. It's doing fantastic. I met the owner and we started talking. We had a meeting every Friday, that relationship grew over time, and now we're tied at the hip. >> So do you specifically code for them? No, I've given away my days of writing software. I operate as their executive VP of market development and client solutions. I'm the person in charge of bringing people on board. >> The opening talked about the hedge fund space and now addressing retail space. Are you still in the hedge fund space? They trade up to a hundred million in the hedge fund space. A team of folks — PhDs strong in AI, artificial intelligence, machine learning. They do this for a living. When they created that retail algorithm product, the more I learned, the more I felt like more people need to have access to this kind of product — because this takes away probably the biggest challenge of successful traders: the ability to handle their emotions. >> How is this platform different from others out there? That's a great question. There's other folks that proclaim they have trading bots, but they're not built by hedge fund companies. Most of those other marketing materials say "we want to be like a hedge fund company." These folks at JTNC have been doing this for 12 years — taking that same talent and expertise with AI and machine learning and building a product that's different. They've operated in a pressurized environment. Running a successful hedge fund for 12 years means you've got something on the game. >> The team is using some of the same strategies from their hedge fund work? Yes. At a hedge fund you build systematic strategies. My business partner would say, "What's the alpha?" — meaning what's the key to your success? What's the edge you've automated that shows repeated success and can also adjust to different market conditions? They run thousands and thousands of models and tests. Most of the work in getting the retail product going was around interacting with the various brokerage firms. We partnered with Tradier because they're a very strong brokerage firm. >> So do you trade options, futures, stocks, crypto? What's available? We break it into segments. The algorithm they've built and put into their strategies — they weren't starting from scratch. The herd mentality is part of our fabric. We look at where that money is piling in through a various set of factors. We also look at optionality and volumes of optionality at certain price levels that are going to garner a reaction. The algorithm automatically calculates risk-reward by looking at volume and optionality and its target price and exit price. Most folks aren't looking at all those things on a chart because you can't see them all on one chart. >> How would you describe your cadence — how long you stay in a trade? The Quantum Flow Auto Algo is like a day trading machine. It's a scalper extraordinaire. We could do two trades a day, three trades, maybe four or five. It has risk-reward mechanisms — if we're up a certain amount, it says do I need to take any more trades today? If it takes a loss on two trades, it's done for the day. Very sophisticated about protecting capital. It knows the size of accounts it's working with. >> Recommended account size? Yes, 25K so you can avoid the pattern day trading rule — which you and I both know is scheduled to change in early 2026. It is going to change. >> It is going to change. I was so happy. I wrote something to the FINRA people when they asked for comment. I think it was my letter that pushed them over the edge. [laughter] Well, thank you. That's a big boom to the retail trading space. It's going to make a big difference. >> So what advantage does automated trading provide the retail person? I feel like there are five components to be good at trading: understand the market tone, fundamentals of a company, reading the charts, understanding the industry rotation — and then the fifth one, which most people miss, is the psychology of trading. Automation solves that. Overtrading, high-risk trading, people blowing accounts out, losing discipline, not having a set of rules. The algorithm has a plan. It doesn't worry that you didn't sleep well last night or that your mind is distracted. The top traders of all time share this common theme — at some point they had to change their thinking from "I hope it comes back" to "I've got to get out of this trade." That was a huge mindset shift. The algorithm doesn't need that mindset shift. It just does what it's supposed to do. Using AI and machine learning, it can actually learn what's going on in the market and operate on it. No emotion, not tired, not sleepy. That completely changes your P&L. >> Does a client take a strategy off the shelf and plug it in, or do they build it themselves? We made this as simple as possible. All you have to do is allocate the amount of money per trade. We only have two trading strategies — select spread or single leg option. We recommend spreads for accounts at $25K and higher because spreads have an inherently lower risk profile. You put in the amount of money per trade and then select the ticker. We're trading options on three tickers: SPY, the S&P 500 ETF; SPX, the S&P 500 index; and QQQ, the NASDAQ 100. You pick those three, you put in the amount of money, you select spread or single leg, and you're done. You don't even have to say call or put. The algorithm knows what direction it needs to trade. Total time commitment: about two and a half minutes a day to set that up. >> Can a total beginner use this? Unequivocally yes. You do have to get a brokerage account approved for options trading. We have videos about what options are so you have context. But you can be an advanced trader or a novice — the product works for both. You're putting in money in an allocation that you control. We are not. That's why it's designed this way, to comply with regulations and give you the power. It's a really straightforward web user interface. >> What else should we know about the product? AI and machine learning — I'd like people to understand the difference. Most people know artificial intelligence from Alexa, Siri, your car GPS. But machine learning is the real power. AI plus machine learning takes volumes and volumes of data and starts making recommendations — like "go faster with the algorithm, look at the two-minute charts not the five-minute charts." By having AI and machine learning in the product, you're always where you need to be. If you're not using AI and machine learning in your trading, you're falling behind. We're starting with this one product, then we'll do a QFA for futures — minis and micros — and then one for liquid stocks, maybe Q3 of next year. >> Pricing? We're running a promotion through the end of the year. 15% off our Quantum Flow Auto Algo. Annual subscription normally $12,000 — with the promotion it's $10,200, plus you get 13 months instead of 12, plus $5,000 worth of free trading products. Fully refundable 30-day trial, no questions asked. Pay-as-you-go option: $13,500 total, about $3K down and $8.99 a month for 10 months. Same deal — 13 months instead of 12 and $5,000 in trading products. Entry-level program at $6,000 for the year — trading allocation capped at $250 per ticker, but that gets you in the door. Pay-as-you-go version: $6,500, with $2,500 down and $400 a month for 10 months. And we have four slots for a lifetime price — contact directly for that one, we're not announcing it publicly. We project the algorithm on a 12-month basis will give you 2x to 4x your return. That's our projection — we can't guarantee anything because SEC and FTC don't allow that, but that's the target. We partner with Tradier. That's the brokerage account you have to open to run this Quantum Flow Algo. And one thing I didn't tell you before, Lex — it fills faster with Tradier accounts than with some of the other competitors we work with. Don't tell them. >> That's a secret between you and me. Marcus, thanks for coming on. This is awesome. Check out JTNC's offering. I need one of these — because I don't want to sit in front of the computer. Get your time back. >> Get your time back. Alright, Marcus. Great. Thanks for coming on.