The Complete Guide to Option Strategies: Advanced and Basic Strategies on Stocks, ETFs, Indexes, and Stock Indexes

APPENDIX A

Strategies at a Glance—ETFs

Appendixes A, B, and C cover option strategies on ETFs, indexes, and stock index futures, respectively, and illustrate many of the strategies covered throughout this book. Strategies are presented according to whether they are primarily bullish or bearish, and whether they profit inside a trading range or profit outside a trading range.

Whatever your market prediction, there is likely an ETF option strategy that can be used to profit from that view. For example, you can execute an option strategy that will profit if you are bullish, bearish, or want to profit from an increase in volatility (where an underlying instrument will trade outside a range) or a decrease in volatility (where an underlying instrument will trade within a range). Not only that, but an ETF can have a positive correlation to its benchmark or an inverse correlation to its benchmark and can be executed at the same rate as its underlying benchmark index or at double its benchmark index.

An advantage of trading an ETF is that it allows you to take advantage of almost any market view. For example, if you are bullish on the broad market, buy a SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) call or a ProShares Ultra S&P 500 (symbol SSO) call; if you expect an increase in volatility in the broad market, buy a SPDR S&P 500 or a ProShares Ultra S&P 500 straddle or strangle; and if you expect a contraction in volatility, sell a SPDR S&P 500 or a ProShares Ultra S&P 500 iron condor.

The following section presents ...