This is a covered call and "cash"-secured puts strategy:

    1. (CC) Have half of the portfolio in liquid well-diversified large-cap ETFs like QQQ/SPY, and write calls on them. Then, to avoid tax consequences of selling the ETF, always roll the call up (increase strike) and out (higher DTE) for a net credit, and minimize early assignment risks by having at least a month out if it is already in-the-money.
    2. (CSP) Have the other half of the portfolio in SGOV, and write puts on the ETF using SGOV as collateral, to the extent allowed from the buying power granted by the broker from the SGOV. On the put side, write puts, and unless the price is deemed "attractive" and assignment is okay, roll the puts down (decrease strike) and out (higher DTE) when the ETF falls.

    The main idea of the strategy can be summarized as taking advantage of the upward-trending markets, making premium money on one side (usually short puts), and then recouping the losses from the other side (usually short calls) when the market inevitably reverses in the future. This strategy takes advantage of the indefinite investment horizon of a retail investor, who doesn't have performance pressure of short-term liquidity needs, so that the investor is able to wait and hold the option, which isn't a luxury always available to professional traders and institutional players.

    The choice of QQQ/SPY is important, due to the liquidity of the option market, so that there are both more expiry dates and horizons to choose from.

    I have been doing this for almost a year by now, and my experience has been that it's easy to get the puts out of water (recover losses) than the calls, given the stock market trends upwards in general. During times of strong upward trends such as June – Oct of last year, or the last few weeks, calls become severely underwater and I had to roll out quite far (~six months out). Consequently, I have been "betting against myself", by selling in-the-money puts, so that I get compensated if the market continues to trend upwards, and will at least have some alleviation from the short calls if the market falls.

    The reasoning for selling calls is that the market will have a downturn (the return for the entire year is negative) once every a couple of years, and the rent income from calls, together with the impact on the call price from the downturn, "should" compensate for the losses suffered earlier from the calls.

    The reasoning for selling puts is that the market tends to go up over time, and during times of severe downturns, SGOV can be liquidated to obtain additional buying power to sell "emergency" puts with the intention of being assigned and buy low.

    Another reason for selling options in general, is that it's hard to make money buying options, so there should be an edge on the other side, if the other side has the sophistication to manage risks. Given that I'm not a market-maker and doesn't do hedging (which is costly), I simply wait as, what a retail investor often does. Additionally, there is a tiny tiny natural hedge between short calls and short puts.

    I see an argument to be made that the number of ETFs in the portfolio can only increase, given that I'm not selling the ETFs. The response: I will start selling when I inevitably lose my job and become unemployed sometime in the future, so that I can take advantage of the 0% long-term capital gains tax (assuming the tax code doesn't change).

    My question is – is this sustainable, and are there other risks that I haven't considered?

    Can this option-selling strategy work in the long run?
    byu/koudai8 inoptions



    Posted by koudai8

    8 Comments

    1. iron_condor34 on

      Upside calls are probably cheap from all the option selling that goes on in this market. In the words of T-Pain. DO SOMETHING ELSE

    2. For me, better to invest the portfolio in equities entirely, or nearly, for the upside equity risk premium. Then, sell short term SPX puts / put spreads far OTM with the buying power provided by the portfolio to capture addition variance risk premium.

      SPX settles in cash, so no pin risk. It’s tax favorable with split LTCG and STCG and no influence to the basis like the cover calls.

      If you want to capture upside VRP, sell some calls or call spreads into the mix, or ICs. But the put side is more favorable for premium—the market is willing to pay more for downside protection than lottery tickets.

      To answer your question about risks, this has a lot to do with deltas / strike selection. You don’t mention this so it’s difficult to assess in full. The appropriate risk has a lot to do with you overall financial situation: income, minimum expenses, savings and investments, goals, and willingness to take risk.

    3. You are cutting the top off of half your portfolio on a single issuer? No, no, no

    4. Here is a reprint of my naked strangle strategy.

      I believe a good strategy to earn extra income for a large account  is to use the account value as collateral and sell naked index options. You must have approval to sell naked options.

      This is like building a Chinese Wall separating your stocks and your options. You can manage your stocks more effectively by using buy or sell orders without worrying about option assignment. On the option side, you don’t have to keep looking for wheels to spin. Index options are settled in cash, so you are not forced to buy or sell stocks by option assignment. 
      I have used this strategy for over 10 years.
      **Papakong88’s strategy #1:**
      Sell 4WTE (4 weeks to expiration) NDX strangles. Delta = 0.04 for the put and 0.02 for the call.
      One can sell the 4WTE strangle for around 40 now. The margin required is about 220 to 250 K.
      This is a rate of return of 1.7% every 4 weeks. You can increase the return by increasing the delta.
      No fuss and no mess. Some covered call ETFs and put writing ETFs are using index options to generate high income.
      You can also use other indices like SPX or RUT etc or the mini indices like XND, XSP and MRUT.
      Index options have other benefits – lower tax rate (60% long term and 40% s, cash settlement and no early assignment. See:
      [https://www.cboe.com/tradable_products/sp_500/spx_options/](https://www.cboe.com/tradable_products/sp_500/spx_options/)

    5. Senior_Power_7040 on

      “…to avoid the tax consequences…” You do realize that options premiums are short term cap gains, thus not tax efficient?

    6. I skimmed this so I might have skimmed too fast but are you not just talking about a short strangle ?

    7. the_humeister on

      Covered call = short put. Might as well sell XSP puts at the strikes you would have sold the calls at.

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