Author: ivtrades

This is when you put on a short option position and hedge it with another option position or with long shares. This is essentially the opposite of a naked write.

This is when you sell a straddle against shares that you already own. It is important to note that the covered straddle is not really fully covered since only the calls are covered. The strategy has a bullish bias.

A covered call is executed when you buy the underlying stock/shares and then sell Calls against it. The trade is considered covered because the shares will cover what is now a short Call position. So this means the shorting/sale of the Calls was not “naked”. This method can be used to generate income using stock…

This method is normally used when Options are overpriced. The trader would simply buy stocks in the open market and sell the equivalent position in the options market. This is done because the trader sees that the Options price is too high and anticipates that it will eventually decrease. So he/she decides to cash in…

The condor is basically a combination of a bull call spread and a bear call spread. Essentially, options with consecutive strike prices, buying options with a lower exercise price, and options with higher exercise price. The condor is generally created using the same numbers of short and long calls (or puts). You will nee to…

This is when you own shares in a particular stock and then you sell Calls against it and then buy Puts. You would use this strategy when you think that the stock rice is a little overdone and you are expecting some downside. This has limited risk due to the long put option, but also…

This is an order that you would place to offset an existing long position. For example, If you buy a call option to open a new position, you would then need to offset or close that position with a closing order. This is an order to sell-to-close.

A closing purchase is an order that you place to offset an existing short position. For example, If you sell a call option to open a new position, you would then need to offset or close that position with a closing order to buy. In other words, you would buy-to-close.

There are some options settle for cash rather than shares. Indexes like the S&P 500 Index (.SPX) and the S&P 100 Index (.OEX) are examples of cash settled options.

This is when you sell Put options with the intention or to take delivery of the underlying shares. Cash is deposited in the account and, if the stock price falls to the strike price of the put option, you get the delivery of the shares into the account once the Options expire.