A collar trade is a covered call trade with a protective put. Jim recently wrote to me asking about the efficacy of also selling an out-of-the-money put to help pay for the cost of the protective put. This article will analyze this series of trades to assess the pros and cons of adding that fourth […]
Trade Management: A Real-Life Example with Brooks Automation, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRKS)
Once we enter our covered call writing trades, we immediately go into position management mode. In August, 2018, Mike generously shared with me a series of trades he executed using Brooks Automation, Inc and asked for my evaluation of his management of these trades. This article will detail and evaluate each aspect of the series […]
Timing Our Covered Call Trades: Joanna’s Tale of “DOH”
When entering our covered call trades with new positions, we buy the stock and immediately sell the option. This can be accomplished by legging-in or using a buy-write combination form. This is an important guideline because we will be assured of capturing our initial time value return goals. On August 6th, 2018, Joanna shared with […]
Why Covered Call Writing Outperforms the Overall Market
Why should we spend the time to educate ourselves on how to implement and manage covered call writing trades? The answer is simple: Once the 3 required skills (stock selection, option selection and position management) are mastered, we will put ourselves in a position to beat the market on a consistent basis. This article will […]
Buying Low and Selling High Also Applies to Option-Selling
Covered call writers hold two positions. We are long (own) the stock and short (sold) the call option. It is intuitive to investors that it is to our advantage if the stock price accelerates or at least does not decline in value. There are five possible outcomes in the stock portion of our trade: Stock […]
Factors to Consider When Closing a Trade Early: A Real-Life Example with ATVI
Exit strategies for covered call writing includes closing a trade when share price rises above the original strike price sold. When formulating these decisions, we must factor in the cost-to-close as it relates to the opportunity to generate more profit. On November 8, 2017, Marion shared with me a trade with Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: […]
Rolling Down Our Put Positions: When and Why?
Rolling Down Our Put Positions: When and Why? When selling cash-secured puts, our breakeven stock price is the (out-of-the-money) strike price less the put premium. Our exit strategy guideline as to when to close the short put (buy back the put) is when share value declines to more than 3% below the strike price. […]
Arbitrage: Part I
Understanding stock and option pricing requires an awareness of arbitrage and market efficiency. Although most retail investors do not have the tools to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities, a comprehensive understanding of how it works adds to our financial literacy and so I am sharing this 2-part series with our readers. What is arbitrage? Arbitrage is the […]
Beware of High Premium Returns
Covered call writers and put-sellers must set goals regarding targeted premium returns before entering trades. These objectives are based on personal risk tolerance, market assessment and chart technicals. One of the most flagrant mistakes made by option sellers is to make trade decisions based on the highest premium returns. Covered call writing and put-selling are […]
When Strikes Move Deep In-The-Money: A Real-Life Trade
Covered call writing exit strategies include scenarios when share price moves up or down. Our main enemy is share depreciation where we need to mitigate losses but we must also have the ability to enhance returns when share price rises under certain specific conditions. This article will evaluate a trade sent to us by Mario […]
