The Poor Man’s Covered Call (PMCC), also known as a long call diagonal debit spread, is where deep in-the-money (ITM) LEAPS options are used in place of the long stock position. As with all strategies, the PMCC has its advantages and disadvantages but the main reason this strategy appeals to retail investors is that the […]
Delta as the Sole Criteria for Covered Call Writing Strike Selection
Strike selection is the second required skill when writing covered call options or selling cash-secured puts. Over the years I have been asked to suggest a specific Delta for strike selection implying that this statistic would be the sole criterion to determine strike determination. This article will make a case why Delta, although important, should […]
Strike Selection for Portfolio Overwriting Low Cost-Basis Stocks
Portfolio Overwriting is covered call writing using existing long-term buy-and-hold securities. It implies low cost-basis shares, dividend-bearing stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Since we don’t want our shares called away while generating additional option premium, cash flow decisions must be made on the best strike prices to select for our short calls. What is the […]
Understanding the Impact Implied Volatility has on Delta
For covered call writers and put-sellers, the option Greeks play a major role in our understanding of the risks and value of our option premiums. We know our option premiums consist of intrinsic value (for in-the-money strikes) + time value. Our initial time value returns reflect the time to expiration + the volatility of the […]
Is There Less Risk Using Deep In-The-Money Long Calls versus Covered Call Writing?
“There is less risk using deep in-the-money (ITM) long calls than buying stock and selling the corresponding short calls”. That is the case John made to me when I received his email in January 2018. As an example, John used a $100.00 stock and a call premium of $9.00. The basis of his theory was […]
Hitting a Double with News-Related Market Overreactions
Stock selection, option selection and position management are the 3 required skills for covered call writing and put-selling. One of our go-to exit strategies is “hitting a double” where we buy back the original option sold if share price declines and then re-sell that same option as share price recovers. Stock prices whipsaw and that […]
Seeking the Highest Option Premiums is a Losing Strategy
One of the common mistakes made by covered call writers and put-sellers is to make investment decisions based primarily on the highest premium returns. Certainly, we all want to generate the highest levels of success but only when factoring in the risk we will be incurring. This article will look at high premium returns from […]
The Collar Strategy from a Delta Perspective
When covered call writing is combined with protective puts the strategy is known as the collar strategy. The short call places a ceiling on gains and the long put represents a floor protecting losses. The two option positions should result in a net credit. Typically, out-of-the-money calls and puts are selected. Covered call writing and […]
Why Option Buyers Pay More for In-The-Money Strikes
When we sell an in-the-money covered call, we are taking a defensive posture and using the intrinsic value component of the premium to protect the time value initial profit. As an example, let’s look at New Oriental Education (NYSE: EDU) on April 7, 2017: EDU priced at $61.50 $60.00 (ITM) call priced at $3.55 Expiration […]
Determining the Delta of our Strikes Using the Airport Formula
“What is the best Delta to use when selling covered call options?” I get this question frequently from the educated core of members from our BCI community. Delta is one of the five option Greeks which are mathematical means of quantifying the risk inherent in our option positions. Delta is one of, what I consider, the “big 3”, with […]
Podcast
- 99. Anatomy of a Reverse Stock Split
- 98. Analyzing LEAPS Options for the Poor Man's Covered Call
- 97. Managing Our Poor Man's Covered Call Trades When Share Price Drops Substantially
- 96. Protecting Our Covered Call Trades: Protective Puts and In-the-Money Strikes
- 95. Covered Call Writing to Generate Premium and Dividend Income
- 94. Covered Call Writing Net Debit Limit Orders
- 93. WHEN CALL STRIKES MOVE DEEP ITM EARLY IN A CONTRACT
- 92. Selling Deep OTM Cash-Secured Puts to Create High-Probability Returns
- 91. Portfolio Overwriting Analyzed
- 90. Entering a Collar Trade
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