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Tag Archives: Portfolio Overwriting

What Do Covered Call Writing and Steroids Have in Common?

Most investors view covered call writing as a singular strategy where we buy a stock and then sell an option leveraging that security. In reality, educated option-sellers realize that one of the most remarkable advantages of using this strategy is that it can be crafted to achieve multiple goals and meet the trading style and […]

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Portfolio Overwriting with Apple Computer (NASDAQ: AAPL)

Portfolio overwriting is a covered call writing alternative strategy. Our goals include increasing our returns by a modest amount while still retaining ownership of the shares. Deep out-of-the-money strikes are sold with specific annualized returns in mind, let’s say 6% for purposes of this article. Apple Computer is a widely held stock by many of […]

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Portfolio Overwriting Calculator

Portfolio Overwriting with Weekly Options

Portfolio overwriting is a covered call writing alternative strategy where out-of-the-money call options are sold against long-term buy-and-hold positions. Generally, these stocks are of a low cost-basis and generate dividend income. We want to avoid assignment to prevent the negative tax consequences of selling stocks that will result in significant capital gains.   Basis of […]

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covered call writing calculations

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 […]

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covered call writing calculations

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 […]

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Rolling Out-And-Up in Our Buy-And-Hold Portfolios

Portfolio overwriting is a covered call writing-like strategy where we sell call options against long-term buy-and-hold securities. Generally, these are low-cost basis stocks that are dividend-bearing and trading in non-sheltered accounts. We want to leverage these stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to generate additional income but also want to avoid assignment of the shares to […]

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covered call writing strategies

Poor Man’s Covered Call: Practical Application

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 substitutes that will lower cost basis and risk. Enter the […]

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protective puts and covered call writing

Generating Income on Stocks Already Owned

Covered call writing is a low-risk option-selling strategy that allows us to generate monthly cash flow in sheltered and non-sheltered accounts. One of the main reasons this has been the go-to strategy in the stock portion of my portfolio is related to the fact that the strategy can be crafted to specific investment scenarios and […]

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expiration dates for covered call writing

Portfolio Overwriting: Should We Sell 1-Month or 2-Month Expirations?

Covered call writing can be used in a variety of ways. Most covered call writers use this strategy to generate monthly cash flow. It can also be adapted to enhance the returns of a long-term buy-and-hold portfolio where some of our securities may have been purchased at a significantly lower price than current market value […]

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percentage of options that expire worthless

Myths and Misconceptions about Covered Call Writing

There are certain fallacies and deceptions associated with covered call writing as there are with all investment strategies. I am the first to say that there is no one strategy right for every single investor. We must master the pros and cons of each strategy to determine if it is right for our families. This […]

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