When we initiate a covered call trade by first buying a stock and then selling a call option, our cost-basis, in the BCI methodology, is the lower of the stock price or strike price. If we sell an in-the-money (ITM) strike, we deduct the intrinsic-value component of the option premium from the share price bringing […]

Establishing Our Cost-Basis for Long-Term Holdings
Posted on March 6, 2021 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Stock Option Strategies

Establishing Our Cost-Basis When Rolling Out-And-Up on 2 Different Days
Posted on February 13, 2021 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Stock Option Strategies
One of our covered call writing exit strategies is rolling-out-and-up. We use this position management technique when our short call is in-the-money (ITM) as expiration approaches and we decide to retain the shares for the next contract month (or week). For example, had we bought a stock for $38.00 and sold the $40.00 call and […]

Establishing Our Cost-Basis in a Multi-Step Managed Trade
Posted on January 30, 2021 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution
Covered call writing calculations are meaningful only when the correct stats are entered into our formulas (calculators). The cost-basis of a managed trade can be confusing as stock and option values are changing with each step of the trade series. In July 2020, Steve shared with me a series of trades he executed with KraneShares […]

Rolling-Down On a Sharp Market Decline at the End of a Contract
Posted on January 9, 2021 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exchange-Traded Funds, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Stock Option Strategies
Exit strategy opportunities may be created when there is a substantial 1-day market decline and we must be prepared to take advantage of these occasions. In June 2020, there was an 1800 point decline in the Dow 30 due to coronavirus concerns and national unrest related to police shootings. Many members of the BCI community […]

The Poor Man’s Covered Call: Rolling Options in the Current Contract Month + 15% Holiday Discount Expiring Soon
Posted on December 19, 2020 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exit Strategies, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Stock Option Strategies
Exit strategies are critical to our overall success whether using traditional covered call writing or the Poor Man’s Covered Call (PMCC). In this article, we will evaluate scenarios when share price both declines and accelerates creating rolling-down and rolling-up opportunities in the current contract month. The BCI PMCC Calculator will assist with the computations. […]

“Hitting a Double” With The Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) + 15% Holiday Discount
Posted on December 12, 2020 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Stock Option Strategies
After entering our covered call writing trades, we immediately enter our 20% buy-to-close (BTC) limit orders. This will automate the process to close our short calls in the first half of a monthly contract should share price decline significantly. This article will highlight such an opportunity that occurred with Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) […]

“Hitting a Double” on the Last Day of a Contract
Posted on November 21, 2020 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exchange-Traded Funds, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Stock Investing, Stock Option Strategies
Exit strategies for covered call writing are critical components to our overall success. One of the strategies available to us is hitting a double. This is where we buy back the short call and wait for the stock price to recover allowing us to re-sell the same option. This creates 2 income streams in the […]

Managing a Poor Man’s Covered Call Trade When Share Price Drops Below the LEAPS Strike
Posted on October 17, 2020 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Stock Option Strategies
A typical Poor Man’s Covered Call (PMCC) trade involves buying a deep in-the-money call LEAPS option and selling short-term out-of-the-money call options which is protected by the long LEAPS position. In April 2020, Martin shared with me a PMCC trade he executed with PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL) where share price declined below the LEAPS strike […]

Rolling Out-And-Up: 6-Week Returns
Posted on October 3, 2020 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Stock Option Strategies
Option calculations help guide us to an accurate assessment of our covered call writing profits. It’s more meaningful to use percentages rather than dollar amounts when executing these calculations. For example, a $1000.00 profit on a $10,000.00 investment (10%) is much more significant than a $1000.00 return on a $100,000.00 investment (1%). That’s why percentages […]

Selling Deep OTM Cash-Secured Puts with Exit Strategy Enhancements
Posted on September 26, 2020 by Alan Ellman in Exit Strategies, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Put-selling, Stock Option Strategies
This is a follow-up cash-secured puts article to the one published last week where I detailed how I was selling deep OTM cash-secured puts on Apple Computer (AAPL) to generate weekly cash flow. I was using strikes with Deltas below -0.10%, approximating less than a 10% of ending in-the-money. My goal was to generate 0.4% […]
Podcast
- 50. Exit strategies Must Be Timed Properly
- 49. Analyzing a Multi Leg Covered Call Rolling Down Series of Trades
- 48. Rolling Deep OTM Cash Secured Puts
- 47. Rolling Up in the Same Contract Month
- 46. Should Delta Be the Sole Criteria for Covered Call Writing Strike Selection
- 45. Implied Volatility and Expected price Movement During the Life of Option Contracts
- 44. Can We Use ITM Strikes to Create a No Risk Covered Call Strategy?
- 43. Converting a Covered Call Trade to a Collar Trade
- 42. Why Was My OTM Put Exercised?
- 41. Collar Trades When Call Strikes Move Deep In The Money
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