Contract adjustments to the terms of our covered call writing and put-selling options are due to corporate actions like mergers and acquisitions, special dividends and stock splits. This article will highlight the contract alterations resulting from a reverse stock split. What is a reverse stock split? This is a reduction in the number of […]
Myths and Misunderstandings About Covered Call Writing
Covered call writing education must include debunking the myths associated with this strategy. When certain concepts are repeated often enough, they become accepted as truths whether they are accurate or false. The purpose of this article is to refute five of the most egregious of these misrepresentations. 1. Covered call writing should be used […]
Buyers Have Rights, Sellers Have Obligations: Covered Call Writing in a Nutshell
Covered call writers get paid cash when selling call options. Call buyers pay cash to own the options. This article will highlight the reasons options are bought and sold as it relates to covered call writing. We will use a real-life example with CarMax, Inc. (NYSE: KMX), a stock on our Premium Stock Report on […]
Ask Alan #170 – Are Protective Puts Necessary?
Alan answers a question posed by Jill, who asks: Alan, I have read both Encyclopaedias and watched your covered call writing program and have learned so much. However, I am on the fence about wether to buy protective puts for my trades. How do we decide whether buying puts is best for our trades? Thanks […]
REITS: Good Covered Call Writing Candidates? A Real-Life Example with PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE: PMT)
REITs (real estate investment trusts) invest directly in income-producing real estate and is traded like a stock. In September 2019, Clifton wrote to me about PMT inquiring if it would make a viable covered call writing candidate. He pointed out that this security offered an 8.5% annualized dividend yield. To evaluate, we will examine the […]
Adjusting Target Goals with ETFs
Exchange-traded funds are baskets of stocks some going up and others going down in price. Generally, this makes these securities less volatile than individual stocks. Lower implied volatility translates into lower option premiums. Of course, there are exceptions but covered call writing with ETFs will usually provide better diversification and less risk at the expense […]
Dividend Yield Should Be a Secondary Factor When Selecting Stocks for Our Covered Call Writing Portfolio
Combining covered call writing premiums with high dividend yields can be an enticing investment approach. In October 2019, Gerry wrote to me about using MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) in her option-selling portfolio and pointed to the generous dividend yield and real-estate component as the reasons for this consideration. In the BCI methodology, we use fundamental […]
Put-Call Parity and Arbitrage Opportunities
Put–call parity is a principle that defines the relationship between the price of European put options and European call options of the same stock, strike price, and expiration date. The formula can identify arbitrage opportunities where the simultaneous buying and selling of securities and options result in no-risk profit. I am writing this article in response to a number on […]
Mid-Contract Unwind Exit Strategy at the End of a Contract
Exit strategies for covered call writing and sell cash-secured puts is one of the 3-required skills that must be mastered. The mid-contract unwind (MCU) exit strategy is used for covered calls when share price moves substantially above the strike price, leaving the strike deep in-the-money. One of the characteristics of a deep ITM strike is […]
Strike Selection Using Technical Analysis and Market Assessment
Stock and option selection are 2 of the 3-required skills essential to successful covered call writing (position management is the 3rd). There is no one factor that will dictate our choices but rather a mosaic of bits of information which will lead us to the best choices. In this article, I will discuss two of […]
