Oct 8, 2016 | Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Trade Execution
We write a covered call or sell a cash-secured put. At expiration, the strike price is in-the-money. For calls that means lower then current market value and for puts it means higher than current market value. To demonstrate the moneyness of these strikes, let’s...
Oct 1, 2016 | Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Stock Option Strategies
Covered call writing involves first buying a stock or exchange-traded fund (ETF) and then selling call options on those shares. Each contract we sell requires us to buy 100 shares of the underlying. This can be a challenge for some investors who may look for stock...
Sep 24, 2016 | Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Stock Option Strategies
Since we are selling call and put options we know there are traders or market makers who are buying them. In this article we will explore why only about 10% of all call options are actually exercised by the option holders even when the holders want to own the...
Sep 17, 2016 | Fundamental Analysis, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Put-selling, Stock Option Strategies
Covered call writing and selling cash-secured puts are low-risk option-selling strategies used to generate monthly cash flow. Low-risk does not mean no risk so how can we measure the degree of risk we are undertaking? Let’s first all agree that any strategy that...
Sep 10, 2016 | Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Stock Option Strategies
Understanding option calculations is a necessary skill to become an elite covered call writer. The Ellman Calculator will do all the legwork but accurate and meaningful results are dependent on appropriate inputs. To highlight this point, let’s look at a...
Sep 3, 2016 | Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Stock Investing, Stock Option Strategies
When we sell covered call and cash-secured put options, we are selling listed options or options listed on stock exchanges. There are several distinct differences between listed options and Employee Stock Options (ESOs). This article will focus in on these...