Beverly Hills-based Ascendant Asset Advisors’ (AAA) Strategic 1 and Strategic 2 Options programs have been lights out this year. Year-to-date, the Strategic 1 is up some 36.74% and its more levered version, Strategic 2, is up 84.4% though November.

“We trade options in multiple markets and that’s why we’ve been able to achieve such a high performance,” said Payam Pedram, founder. “We have been diversified in many asset classes such as equity indices, currencies, bonds and gold. About 75% of our trades are in the equity indices.”

Both programs charge fees of 2.5/25 with a $100,000 minimum investment requirement.

In February 2007, the firm is also opening up its JLDeVore Elite Trading program, which trades the same markets as the above mentioned programs, to investors by invitation only. The exclusive program has a higher minimum investment requirement of $500,000. 

The firm is currently managing some $14 million in total assets. Prior to founding Ascendant Asset Advisor, Pedram was the president of PPedram.com, a computer services consulting firm.