Stocks & Commodities V. 32:2 (16-21, 40): Static Option Income Strategies: Do They Work? by Giorgos E. Siligardos, PhD
Product Description
Static Option Income Strategies: Do They Work? by Giorgos E. Siligardos, PhD
Myths vs. Facts
If you’re trading options, you’ve probably heard of static option income strategies. They promise low but almost riskless profits every month by selling premiums in up, down, or sideways markets, and you don’t have to make any predictions about the direction or the volatility (implied or actual) of the underlying. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Here’s what you need to be aware of before you start trading them.
Today’s technology and rapid dissemination of information and the friendlier trading environment in derivative products for retail traders gave birth to the so-called option income strategies. These are mostly multileg positions in options aimed at earning small profits month after month. In their most popular (and extreme) versions, these strategies apply static, global, and specific entry or exit rules, eliminating any guesswork about the direction of the underlying.
In this article I will discuss the theoretical background of the most widespread of these strategies, the systematic short iron condor (SSIC). I’ll explain why it became so popular and why the widely touted probabilistic arguments — in theory and in practice — used to support it are misleading. Let’s see if it’s possible for the average trader to be profitable over the long run when using SSICs.
The SSIC, briefly
The SSIC strategy is based on systematically shorting iron condor (IC) positions with options that are sufficiently out-of-the-money (OTM). A theoretical diagram of a profit/loss graph of a short IC is displayed in Figure 1. Such a position is composed of two vertical credit spreads:
* A vertical credit spread with OTM puts having strikes below the current spot price
* A vertical credit spread with OTM calls having strikes above the current spot price.
All options involved are based on the same underlying and have the same time to maturity. The underlying is usually a stock market index (SMI) for the following reasons:
* SMIs move much more smoothly than single stocks
* Most options on SMIs are European, which eliminates the possibility of early execution for the short legs of ICs
* Option markets on large SMIs such as the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) or Russell 2000 Index (RUT) are liquid and their bid/ask spreads are significantly narrower than the bid/ask spreads of single-stock options.
Myths vs. Facts
If you’re trading options, you’ve probably heard of static option income strategies. They promise low but almost riskless profits every month by selling premiums in up, down, or sideways markets, and you don’t have to make any predictions about the direction or the volatility (implied or actual) of the underlying. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Here’s what you need to be aware of before you start trading them.
Today’s technology and rapid dissemination of information and the friendlier trading environment in derivative products for retail traders gave birth to the so-called option income strategies. These are mostly multileg positions in options aimed at earning small profits month after month. In their most popular (and extreme) versions, these strategies apply static, global, and specific entry or exit rules, eliminating any guesswork about the direction of the underlying.
In this article I will discuss the theoretical background of the most widespread of these strategies, the systematic short iron condor (SSIC). I’ll explain why it became so popular and why the widely touted probabilistic arguments — in theory and in practice — used to support it are misleading. Let’s see if it’s possible for the average trader to be profitable over the long run when using SSICs.
The SSIC, briefly
The SSIC strategy is based on systematically shorting iron condor (IC) positions with options that are sufficiently out-of-the-money (OTM). A theoretical diagram of a profit/loss graph of a short IC is displayed in Figure 1. Such a position is composed of two vertical credit spreads:
* A vertical credit spread with OTM puts having strikes below the current spot price
* A vertical credit spread with OTM calls having strikes above the current spot price.
All options involved are based on the same underlying and have the same time to maturity. The underlying is usually a stock market index (SMI) for the following reasons:
* SMIs move much more smoothly than single stocks
* Most options on SMIs are European, which eliminates the possibility of early execution for the short legs of ICs
* Option markets on large SMIs such as the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) or Russell 2000 Index (RUT) are liquid and their bid/ask spreads are significantly narrower than the bid/ask spreads of single-stock options.
FOR THOSE ORDERING ARTICLES SEPARATELY:
*Note: $2.95-$5.95 Articles are in PDF format only. No hard copy of the article(s) will be delivered. During checkout, click the "Download Now" button to immediately receive your article(s) purchase. STOCKS & COMMODITIES magazine is delivered via mail. After paying for your subscription at store.traders.com users can view the S&C Digital Edition in the subscriber's section on Traders.com.
| Take Control of Your Trading. |
| Professional Traders' Starter Kit |
| All these items shown below only $299.99! |
| Click Here to Order |