Covered call writing and selling cash-secured puts are stock option strategies with primary goals of income generation and capital preservation. Most of us are conservative investors who seek to beat the market on a consistent basis while minimizing portfolio risk. This is one of the mission statements of the BCI methodology. In the past few […]
Setting Up a Portfolio of NASDAQ and S&P 500 Stocks In a User-Friendly and Time-Efficient Manner + New Products and Discount Coupons
Many covered call writers and put-sellers favor a portfolio mix of blue-chip and tech companies and turn to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq exchange for locating the best underlying securities. Since this benchmark and exchange total nearly 4000 stocks, locating an elite portfolio can be an overwhelming task. This article will present an approach […]
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 […]
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 […]
Is This Trade a Winner or a Loser?: A Real-Life Example with XLE
Covered call writers must understand and evaluate the success (or lack thereof) of our trades. Simply stated, are they winners or losers? In June 2019, Van shared with me trades he executed with the exchange-traded fund (ETF), Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLE). He was trying to categorize his trade as a winner or […]
Analyzing 4-Day and 2-Month Trades with XBI
Mario was generous in sharing his covered call writing trades with SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSE: XBI). The trades were executed over a 2-month time-frame, the last of which was a 4-day Weekly option. Mario’s trades with XBI 4/17/2019: Buy XBI at $84.95 4/17/2019 – 6/2019: Sell calls and “hit doubles” to lower cost-basis […]
Implied Volatility and Expected Price Movement of our Stocks During the Life of a Contract
Implied volatility (IV) is directly related to the value of the premiums we receive when selling covered call and put options. The more volatile the underlying security, the greater the premium and risk exposure. I have written quite a bit about IV over the years and distinguished it from historical volatility (HV). This article will […]
VIX Covered Call Writing: Selling Options Against Market Volatility
Traditional covered call writing involves first buying a stock (or exchange-traded fund) and then selling a corresponding call option. The result of the initial trade is to generate cash flow from the option sale and lower our cost basis on the stock side. Based on member feedback, there has been a growing interest in writing […]
Covered Call Writing with Only One Security
Diversification is one of the key common-sense requirements when selling covered calls or cash-secured puts. When using individual stocks, the BCI guidelines are a minimum requirement of 5 different stocks in 5 different industries where any one position cannot represent more than 20% of our entire portfolio. We can use fewer securities when using exchange-traded […]
