The Ultimate

Guide to

WRITING
COVERED
CALLS
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
1 The Ultimate Guide to
Writing Covered Calls
7 5 Tips for New Covered
Call Writers

2 How to Find Covered

Call Opportunities
8 How to Select a Broker
for Covered Calls

3 5 Things Investors Should

Know About Covered Call
9 Covered Call
Cost Worksheet

4 How to Calculate
Covered Call Outcomes
10 Tips for Managing
Covered Call Positions

5 Option Terms Every

Investor Needs to Know
11 Covered Call Position
Management
Worksheet

6 How to Choose the Right

Covered Call Expirations
The Ultimate Guide to Writing
Covered Calls

Covered calls have become one of the most popular option strategies. Income investors
can sell covered calls on a regular basis to collect premiums, while others can sell covered
calls to exit an existing stock position or achieve limited downside protection. The only
drawbacks are that you can still lose money if the stock price declines and you must sell
the stock at the agreed upon price even if the price rises much higher.

While simpler than most option strategies, writing covered calls still requires a basic
understanding of options and how they work. You must also select the right stocks, choose
the right strike price and expiration date, and carefully manage option positions. The good
news is that many brokers and advisors offer tools that simplify these processes—the key
is knowing how to use them properly and developing an effective system.

In this guide, we will take you through everything you need to know to get started writing
your own covered calls, as well as show you where you can go to learn more.

Getting Setup for Covered Calls

Many investors that are interested in covered calls don’t have much experience trading
options. For example, you may be a retiree looking for a way to generate extra cash flow
from your portfolio or an individual investor that’s looking to get their feet wet trading
options without all the risk. Covered calls are great tools for these purposes, but it’s
important to ensure that you understand them before placing a trade.

Before diving into covered calls, it helps to understand how options work on a broader
level. An option provides the buyer with the right, but not obligation, to buy or sell an
underlying stock at a certain price before an agreed upon time. Call options provide buyers
with the right to buy a stock, while put options provide the buyer with the right to sell a
stock. Option buyers pay option sellers a premium in exchange for these rights.

There are many different stock option strategies with varying levels of risk. For example, a
naked call is one of the riskiest strategies whereby an investor sells a call option without
owning the underlying stock. The strategy is risky because a stock can theoretically rise to
unlimited heights, which translates to an unlimited potential loss on the trade. Covered
calls are much safer since the option seller owns the underlying stock and has a limited
downside.

There’s also a big difference in how options are traded compared to stocks. You will need

to sign a special agreement with your

broker saying that you understand the
extra risks, and option trades will be
subject to a different fee schedule than
stocks. The good news is that you often
have access to an entirely new set of
tools and research, such as option
screeners, outcome calculators and, in
some cases, proprietary research.

There are five key characteristics to look

for when selecting an options broker:

• Low Fees & Minimums

• Specialization in Options
• Great Customer Service
• Reputation & Stability
• Trade Execution Quality

We recommend Ally Invest for our clients due to their low cost, great options trading
platform, and excellent customer service. While it’s one of the newer companies in the
space, the broker offers steep discounts for active traders as well as 24/7 customer ser-
vice for all clients. You may also consider using your existing broker to keep everything
under one roof, but it’s important to ensure that they have competitive option trading
tools and commissions.

See the How to Select a Broker for Covered Calls chapter for more information on how to
select the best options broker to get started on the right foot.
How to Screen for Opportunities
Covered calls are slightly more complicated than
stocks when it comes to screening for opportunities.
Rather than just predicting long-term price direction,
you’re predicting both the direction of the price and
how volatile the price will be over a specific period of
time. The goal is to generate an income from the
premium payments rather than a profit on the
underlying stock—which is very different from your
goals when long-term investing.

There are a few steps involved in finding covered call opportunities:

1. Choose a Stock: Most investors prefer to buy stock in companies that they’re
comfortable owning over the long-term. That is, they should have strong fundamentals and
predictable volatility. The entire stock portfolio should also be diversified to minimize risk
and maximize income.

2. Chose the Expiration: Most covered call investors use rolling monthly options because
of their liquidity and rate of return per unit of time. While Weeklies® provide greater income
potential, monthly options are a good balance between risk, return and time commitments
when it comes to setting up trades.

3. Choose the Strike Price: Most covered call investors use slightly out-of-the money strike
prices to minimize the risk of an option being called away while maximizing the premium
income. However, it’s equally important to consider the volatility of the underlying stock
when choosing the right strike price.

In addition to these three steps, you should also consider factors like earnings and
dividends. Earnings dates can significantly increase volatility (and option premiums) while
dividends can influence decisions to unexpectedly call away an option. There may also be
sector-specific events to consider, such as new regulations or regulatory approvals, that
can significantly influence the volatility and risks associated with a stock.
See How to Find Covered Call Opportunities for an in-depth look at each of these criteria,
as well as How to Choose the Right Covered Call Expirations for a comparison of week-
lies and monthlies. You can also use our free covered call screener to find opportunities
sorted by potential return and other factors.

Managing Covered Call Positions

Writing covered calls is an active trading strategy that requires regular follow-up. In
addition to setting up new positions every month, you may be faced with important
decisions mid-month, such as whether to buy back or deliver stock if an option is called by
the option buyer. In order to make the optimal decision, it’s important to understand all the
options available to you as well as the pros and cons of each option.

Suppose that you have a covered call position that’s at risk of being called away because
the stock price is rapidly moving towards the strike price or there is an upcoming dividend.
In this case, you have several ways that you could react, and each has its own pros and
cons to carefully consider.

The three primary choices that you have include:

• You could take no action and let the stock be called away. The benefit of this strategy is
that you receive cash from the stock sale and don’t incur any other costs, but the
downside is that you may be taxed on the capital gains income.

• You could close out or unwind the position by buying back the covered call and either
keeping or selling the stock. The benefit of this strategy is that you don’t necessarily have
to sell the stock, but the downside is that you will lose money on the option trade.

• You could rollout the position by buying back the covered call and selling a new call at a
later date, higher strike price, or both. The benefit of this approach is that you don’t have
to sell the stock and you can minimize your losses on the option trade, but the downside
is that you’re committed to a new option position right away.
The right choice depends on whether you would like to keep the underlying stock and/or
if you want to realize any taxable gains or losses for the year on the underlying stock. It’s
important to have a strategy in place to answer these questions beforehand in order to
avoid making costly mistakes in the heat of the moment.

Developing a Well-Defined Strategy

The best way to cope with the
complexities of covered calls is to use a
well-defined strategy. The Snider
Investment Method is designed to make it
easier than ever to identify the right
underlying stocks, select the right strike
price and expiration, and react to any
changes to the position over time. This
lets you confidently make trades with less
stress and potentially generate a much
more stable income over time.

In addition to these basic capabilities, the Snider Investment Method shows you how to
screen stocks based on volatility and risk, as well as ensure the right level of asset
allocation for the portfolio. These factors go beyond covered call option returns and
consider the overall health of your investment portfolio. That way, you won’t be caught
off-guard if a specific sector experiences a decline or the entire market moves lower.

Finally, the system will show you how to ladder your portfolio to generate consistent cash
flow over time. Many retirement investors require cash flow to meet their daily needs,
which means that ladders can be invaluable in making covered call strategies successful
and practical. These techniques can make covered call strategies much more like bond
ladders in their ability to create a consistent income that can be withdrawn or reinvested.

Sign up for our free course to learn more about The Snider Method and how to effectively
trade covered calls.
The Bottom Line
Covered calls are a great way to generate an extra income from long stock positions. By
following the steps that we’ve covered in this guide, you can increase your chances of
using covered calls successfully to generate cash flow from your portfolio. It’s important to
understand the ins and outs of covered calls before placing trades in order to avoid costly
mistakes and maximize your premium income over time.

If you’re interested in a more hands-off approach, Snider Advisors also offers a managed
portfolio option for a fixed fee. You don’t have to worry about any active management, but
you can still realize the potential benefits of covered calls over bonds, dividend stocks, and
other forms of income investing. Contact us today to learn more about the strategies that
we use and how we can manage your accounts on your behalf.
How to Find Covered
Call Opportunities

Covered calls have become one of the most widely used option strategies for generating
income. While simpler than most option strategies, finding the right covered call
opportunities can be challenging—especially when you’re trying to build a holistic portfolio
with minimal risk.

In this article, we will look at how to choose the right stocks and calculate the potential
returns for covered calls, as well as look at various tools that can speed up and improve
the process.

What Stocks Should You Choose?

Most investors focus on large-cap, blue-chip, dividend-paying stocks that have predictable
volatility when writing covered calls. In general, you should be comfortable owning the
underlying stock for a long period of time—even if the stock price declines during the
covered call time period.

Check out our FREE Covered Call Screener! Use it to scan the market to find
covered call combinations to boost income in your portfolio.

We screen for stocks using a few different criteria in the Snider Investment Method:

SIM Score: Our proprietary SIM Score measures price volatility over a multi-year period to
filter out the most volatile stocks from our list of covered call candidates.

RapidRatings: RapidRatings is an objective methodology for quantifying bankruptcy

and/or solvency risk based on various inputs from financial statements.

Diversification: We apply asset allocation rules to limit exposure to any specific sector,
industry, and individual company. That way, the entire portfolio doesn’t suffer from any
single decline.
In addition, you should consider any factors that could influence a stock’s price over short
periods of time. The most common cause of short-term volatility is an earnings report, but
you should also watch for industry events, analyst meetings, regulatory risks and
other factors.

Take our free Stock Selection 101 educational course to learn the fundamentals of proper
stock selection techniques.

What Options Should You Choose?

The next step is choosing the call options that you’d like to write against a given underlying
stock. In short, most investors choose monthly call options that are slightly
out-of-the-money, but you may choose other options based on your individual investment
objectives and risk tolerance.

The two key factors to consider are:

1. Expiration Month: An option’s value decays faster in the final 30 days of its life, which
means that most investors stick to monthly call options rather than longer-term options.
It’s also important to consider months that the underlying stock has earnings reports or
other unpredictable events that could have an impact on the price.

2. Strike Price: You should consider in-the-money options when you think the stock price
will decline, at-the-money options when you think the price will remain even, or
out-of-the-money options if you think the price will appreciate. Often, conservative
investors use in-the-money options because of their greater downside protection.
Calculating Potential Returns
The final step is calculating the profit potential
for options you’re considering to select the
best opportunity.

Most investors calculate both *flat* and *if called*

returns for their covered call positions. These returns
are the same when the covered call is in-the-money
or at-the-money, but out-of-the-money if called
returns are higher by the amount that the call option
is out-of-the-money.

Let’s look at how to calculate each of these

returns, as well as annualize the returns to make
fair comparisons.

Flat Return
The flat return assumes that the stock price remains the same through expiration.
You can calculate the flat return in three steps:
1. Determine the time value. Time Value = Premium – Intrinsic Value
2. Determine the net debit. Net Debit = Stock Price – Call Premium
3. Determine flat return. Flat Return = Time Value Premium / Net Debit

If Called Return
The if called return assumes that the option is exercised, even if it’s out-of-the-money.
You can calculate the if called return in three steps:
1. Determine the time value. Time Value = Premium – Intrinsic Value
2. Determine the net debit. Net Debit = Stock Price – Call Premium
3. Determine the if called return, including profit. If Called Return = (Time Value Premium +
Profit on Exercise) / Net Debit
Annualizing Returns
Annualizing returns can help you compare multiple covered call positions with different
days until expiration. After all, a six percent return with many days to expiration may be far
less desirable than a two percent return with fewer days to expiration—annualized
numbers are what matters.

Start by calculating the non-annualized returns and the holding period in days.
You can use the following formula to annualize the return:

Annualized Return = Static Return / Holding Period * 365

You should always look at annualized flat and if called returns when comparing the profit
potential for covered call opportunities.

Screening for Opportunities

The process of screening for stocks and calculating the profit potential for each call option
using option chains on the CBOE’s website would take days or weeks. By the time you
found the right call option, you would have already missed the opportunity and would have
to go back to the drawing board.

Our FREE Covered Call Screener searches for the highest income
earning covered calls based on your criteria. Click here to give it a try.

The good news is that there are many different tools that can help you automatically
identify potential covered call opportunities.

Covered Call Screener

Snider Advisors offers a free covered call screener that sorts through market data to
produce the covered call combination of owning shares of stock and selling a call. After
selecting an expiration date, stock price range and other factors, the screener returns a list
of opportunities that includes key metrics like the if-called return and downside protection.
The free covered call screener implements the first layer of our comprehensive stock
screening, record-keeping and portfolio management software, Lattco. The full version of
Lattco is available exclusively for graduates of the Snider Investment Method course.

Proprietary Software
There are several proprietary software solutions designed to screen for covered call
opportunities. While many platforms provide similar features to broker research tools,
Snider Advisors takes a comprehensive approach with a complete portfolio management
strategy centered on generating income with covered call positions.

For those that don’t have the time to manage

their own portfolio, we also offer full-service
asset management. We monitor client
portfolios daily to identify opportunities to
sell covered calls and generate a return as
close to one percent per month as possible.

Download the Snider Investment Method

Owner’s Manual to learn more about our
strategy and how you can use it to generate
an income using covered call positions.

The Bottom Line

Covered calls are a great way to generate an income from a portfolio of stocks. Rather
than haphazardly selecting options based purely on return, you should build a
comprehensive strategy that factors in both risk and return. You can then ensure
consistent income over time.

If you’re interested in learning more, sign up for our free course on

Covered Call Stock Selection and learn how the Snider Investment Method can help you
succeed with covered calls.
 5 THINGS
Investors Should Know This is an extra resource to go along with the original article:
About Covered Calls How Your Portfolio Can Generate Income in Retirement

Covered calls are a great option for investors looking to make an income from their portfolios, but there are a few
areas to be aware of if you’re new to the concept. Here are a few things investors should know about covered calls.

1. TERMS ON THE TRADE

Option sellers are able to set the terms on their trades. The premium collected from selling calls depends on three factors:

· Strike price – This is the pre-determined price that the underlying shares will be traded at should the option be exercised.
· Time to Expiration
Longer timeframes typically means more premium but also allow for more opportunity for the stock price to exceed the strike price.
· Contracts (Not shares) – For every 100 shares of stock held, investors can choose to sell 1 call contract.

2. “OUT-OF-THE-MONEY” VERSUS “IN-THE-MONEY”

“Out-of-the-money” is a term used to describe a call option with a strike price that is higher than the market price of an underlying
asset. It can also refer to a put option with a strike price that is lower than the market price. An “in-the-money” option has a strike
price that’s already passed the current stock price. Out-of-the-money options have no intrinsic value but they do have time value.
As Snider Method investors, we consider ourselves time farmers.

3. EXPIRATION DATES
expiration date. There are two ways to describe when an option is sold:

· American style – An option contract that may be exercised at any time between the date of purchase (or sale) and the expiration
date. (These are the most common and heavily traded on American option exchanges.)
· European style – An option contract that can only be exercised on the expiration date.

4. OUTCOMES OF AN EXPIRED CALL

If you hold your calls until expiration, there are two potential outcomes:
· If the stock option closes above the strike price, the seller (you) will be required to sell 100 shares of the stock to the option
buyer for each contract.
· If the stock closes under the strike price, the call options expire worthless.
In both cases, you receive the premium for selling the call on the same day as you place the trade. Whether your call expires
worthless or gets exercised, you get to keep the premium.

5. THE RISKS OF COVERED CALLS

Just because a call is “covered” doesn’t mean that you’re completely risk free. Covered calls hold two main risks:

· If the underlying stock price drops in value, the investors holding value will also fall (though a falling covered call is still more

· If the stock price rises dramatically, the seller of the option will only receive the ‘exercise price’ of the option that they sell
together with the premium received on the option.

Covered Calls are a primary component of the Snider Investment Method. This popular option strategy is both

learn more about the Snider Investment Method, please visit https://www.snideradvisors.com/strategy/.

Contact Us: The intent of this handout is to help expand your

support@snideradvisors.com
1-888-676-4337
How to Calculate
Covered Call Outcomes

Covered calls are one of the most popular option strategies used by both short-term
traders and long-term investors. In fact, The Snider Investment Method uses covered calls
at its core to generate consistent cash flow. The strategy is more conservative than most
option strategies and is relatively simple to execute - the key is understanding all the
possible outcomes.

In this chapter, we will quickly review covered calls and look at how to calculate expected
returns and possible outcomes before entering a position.

What Are Covered Calls?

Covered calls are a two-part strategy where stock is purchased, and calls are sold on a
share-for-share basis. For example, you might purchase 100 shares of stock and
simultaneously sell one call option. You receive a premium for the call option and you’re
only required to sell the shares if the stock price is higher than the strike price.

There are three popular reasons for using covered calls:

• Generating Income: You can generate a cash income by selling calls on a regular basis
against an existing stock position. The Snider Method helps investors execute this strategy
to fund their retirement income requirements. You can also reinvest the income to
capitalize on the benefits of compounding over time.

• Exiting a Position: You can use covered calls to exit an existing stock position if you’re in
no hurry to sell. If the stock rises to a price level that you’re comfortable with selling, you
receive both the premium income and the capital gains—a win-win.

• Limiting Downside: You can use covered calls to help limit downside if you don’t want to
sell a stock in your portfolio. If the stock price declines in value, the premium income
offsets some of those losses with a cash income. If the stock recovers down the road, you
still keep the premiums as extra income.
Covered calls are among the safest option strategies, but there are still
two key risks to keep in mind:

• Opportunity Cost: You miss out on any appreciation in the underlying stock beyond the
option’s strike price. If a company receives a buyout offer and the price soars, you are still
committed to selling at the original strike price.

• Stock Decline: You are on the hook for losses if the underlying stock declines in value.
While you have offset some of these losses with premium income, you still may be in the
red on a net basis.

Covered calls are generally considered a neutral-to-bullish strategy, and they work best
when you expect the underlying stock to maintain or slightly increase in value. If you are
very bullish, you may want to simply hold the stock or purchase call options for more
leverage. If you are very bearish, you may want to sell the stock or hedge with
protective puts.

Visualizing Possible Outcomes

Option outcomes are often expressed in a profit-loss diagram that shows the max profit,
max loss, and break-even point on a graph. The X-Axis represents the stock price at
expiration and the Y-Axis represents the potential profit or loss. By looking at this diagram,
you can visualize how the underlying stock price impacts the covered call’s profitability.
Let’s look at an example of a profit-loss diagram for a stock trading at $35.47 and a call
option trading at $2.23 with a $35.00 strike price:

Covered Call Profit-Loss Diagram – Source: CFRA

In the example above, the red line shows the covered call position and the blue line shows
a long stock position for comparison. The covered call position levels off at the strike price
of $35.00, reflecting the max profit potential. The covered call position also shows a
break-even point of $33.24 where it crosses $0.00 on the potential profit-loss Y-Axis.

There are three key outcomes to calculate before entering a covered call position: The max
profit, the break-even point, and the max loss.

Max Profit
Covered calls have a profit ceiling since you’re agreeing to sell stock at a specified price.
Even if the stock doubled in price, your upside would be limited by the strike
price of the option and the premium that you received.
Max Profit = Call Premium + (Strike Price – Stock Price)

Break-even Point
The break-even point is the price at which you would break-even on the
covered call position.
Break-even = Stock Price – Call Premium
Max Loss
Covered calls have a loss ceiling since you’re selling the right to something that you own.
In the unlikely event that a stock price went to zero, you could lose the entire amount that
you paid to establish the stock position, but still keep the premium.
Max Loss = Call Premium – Stock Price

Calculating Expected Returns

The most important calculation for many investors is the expected return of a covered call
position. After all, if there’s a low expected return, it might not be worth the cost and effort
to establish and manage a covered call. It’s also important to look at how expected returns
are impacted when the underlying stock is called away.

Static Return
The static, or unassigned, return is the covered call’s projected annualized net profit,
assuming the stock price remains the same until expiration.
Static Return = (Call + Dividend) / Stock Price x (360 / Days to Expiration)

Assigned Return
The assigned, or if-called, return is the covered call’s projected annualized net profit,
assuming the stock price rises above the strike price by expiration.
Assigned Return = (Call + Dividend) + (Strike – Stock Price) / Stock Price x
(360 /Days to Expiration)

Expected Return
The overall expected return assigns
probabilities to the static return and
if-called return to come up with an
overall expected return—although this
calculation is more subjective.
Expected Return = (Probability of
Being Called x Static Return) +
(Probability of Not Being Called x
If-Called Return)
The Bottom Line
Covered calls are a great way to generate cash income, sell out of positions, or limit
downside, but it’s important to understand all of the potential outcomes. At a minimum,
you should be familiar with the position’s max profit, max loss, break-even point, static
return, and assigned return before making a trade.

Covered call outcomes aren’t the only thing that investors must decide when using
covered calls—they must also decide what stocks to purchase, what strike prices to use,
what expiration dates work best, and many other factors.

The Snider Investment Method provides a complete framework for selecting stocks,
choosing options, and managing covered call positions with the goal of generating a
cash income. If you’re interested in a more hands-off approach, we also offer
asset management services.
How to Choose the Right
Covered Call Expirations

Covered calls are a popular strategy for generating income from a portfolio of stocks.
While the strategy may seem straightforward, investors must decide between various
strike prices and expiration dates that influence the risk of selling stock, as well as premium
income and capital gains.

In this article, we will look at how expiration dates impact option risk and return, as well as
how to choose the right expiration dates for your covered calls.

The Impact of Expiration Dates

All stocks with options have expirations listed for the two immediate upcoming months
and a quarterly expiration cycle in the future. Some stocks also have two more long-term
expiration dates, known as LEAPS®, and/or short-term expiration dates,
known as Weeklys®.

There are two important factors at play when choosing expiration dates:

Time Decay (Theta): Most investors know that there’s less time value built into the price as
an option nears expiration, but the rate of time decay actually accelerates as the expiration
date nears. This is the biggest variable when it comes to covered call returns.

Time Investment: Investors using shorter-term covered calls spend a lot more time
managing trades than those choosing longer-term covered calls. You’ll need to pick stocks,
sell options, watch positions, and make adjustments to manage the trades over time.

Long-term options have the greatest immediate income potential since there’s more time
value built into the price, but short-term options have the highest amount of time value per
unit of time. In other words, short-term options have better static and if-called rates of
return than long-term options.
You can calculate your annual percentage income from a covered call position
using a formula like this:

(Premium Received / Cost of Shares) * (365 / Days Until Expiration)

Let’s look at an example:

Suppose that it’s January 24 and a well-known tech company is trading at $152.00.
Let’s look at all the available call options at the $155.00 strike price.

Expiration Premium Annualized Return

January 25 0.39 93.81%
February 15 4.20 45.84%
April 18 7.45 21.30%
July 19 10.95 14.94%
January 17 16.00 10.73%

The example shows that the annualized income for one-day January 25 call options is
much higher than the July 19 call options, at 93.81 percent versus 14.94 percent, even
though the premium is $39.00 for the January 25 option versus $1,095.00 for the July 19
option. Keep in mind that it is impossible to sell an option that expires the next day all year
long. Also, this calculation does not factor in the underlying value of the stock.

Rolling Monthly Options

Most covered call investors use monthly
options because of their liquidity and rate of
return per unit of time. While Weeklies® may
provide greater income potential, most
investors see monthly covered calls as a
good compromise between risk, return, and
time commitments when it comes to setting
up trades. also, the greater liquidity of
monthly options contributes to tighter
bid/ask spreads reducing slippage when
opening and closing the positions.
The problem is that there is a lot of management involved with implementing
covered calls—even on a monthly basis:

• What stocks are best suited for covered calls?

• What strike price should be used?
• How much money should be allocated per stock?
• What do you do if the stock price appreciates?
• What do you do if the stock price drops?
• How many option contracts should you sell?

It can be challenging to run through these questions and make decisions every single
month. Without a strategy in place, you may also experience variable returns each month,
which makes it difficult to plan out cash flow. This is especially true for retirement investors
that rely on income.

You can reduce the amount of time that it takes to manage short-term covered calls by
using a well-defined strategy. For instance, the Snider Investment Method is designed to
make these strategies a lot easier to execute with a well-defined system of rules rather than
subjective analysis.

Using Long-dated Options

Long-dated options—between 90 days and six months—require less effort to manage, but
they have lower returns and there may be a greater risk of the stock being called away.

These options make the most sense in these situations:

• Dividend timing can play a factor in annualized returns and the risk of the
stock being called away.
• Long-dated options may offer greater peace of mind, which can be important
for risk-averse individuals.
• Higher strike prices can be selected, enabling investors to participate in capital
appreciation of the underlying stock.

Long-dated options can also be used as a stock substitute in covered call-like strategies
known as diagonal spreads. While not a true covered call, the lower cash outlay for LEAPS®
could make the strategy more profitable than conventional strategies that require the
purchase of underlying stock.
Using a Hybrid Strategy
Some investors use both short- and long-dated options to create covered call ladders. In
the bond market, ladders are a common strategy to smooth out fluctuations in interest
rates. Investors might buy 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, and 5- year bonds to diversify
interest rate risk.

The same strategy can be employed for covered call strategies to mitigate stock price
volatility. By spacing out stock purchases, dollar cost averaging limits volatility. More
shares enable investors to sell more covered calls to generate more income over time with
less volatility-driven risk.

If the covered call position is called away, you can close the position at a profit and start
the process over. If there are no calls available above the cost basis, you can still sell calls
against some lower-priced shares to generate an income. The idea is to reduce the risk of
unprofitable trades.

The Bottom Line

Covered calls are a great strategy for generating income from an existing stock portfolio.
When executing the strategy, it’s important to select the right strike price and premium for
your investment goals. Well-defined strategies, like the Snider Method, can ensure
consistent results over time
.
Sign up for a free online 3-part course to learn more about using covered calls to generate
consistent cash flow. We also offer asset management solutions for investors looking for a
hands-off solution.
 5 Tips for New
Covered Call Writers
This is an extra resource to go along with the original article:
How to Write Covered Calls With Better Yields

Writing covered calls is a great investment strategy to produce income in retirement, but if you’ve never written one before
you may not know the best ways to do it. Here are some tips for writing higher-yielding covered calls.

Volatility – the likelihood a stock will move – is important when

writing covered calls. You want a stock to move, but you want it to
Tip 1: move predictably. High volatility stocks could move quickly in your
Choose stocks with favor, but could also move against it. Low volatility stocks may not
move as much as you need and have lower premiums. Stick to
medium volatility medium volatility stocks with track records of positive movements
through the market.

All options lose value as time passes, so covered call writers need to
Tip 2: decide which expiration date to write on the call. Near-term options
will allow you to take advantage of rapid time decay, while longer-term
Pay attention to options will reduce transaction frequency (and costs). Stock volatility
may play a role in whether or not you decide to write near-term or
time decay long-term calls. Low-volatility stocks may not offer enough time to
make the trade worthwhile if you write a near-term date, for example.

Open interest is the number of option contracts that are open or

Tip 3: outstanding for a particular strike and expiration. Options with large
open interest have a large market of buyers and sellers, meaning that
Avoid options with it will be traded at an efficient price. You don’t want to be in an option
series that has low open interest, because if you need to exit early you
low open interest are unlikely to get a fair price. Any series you choose should have at
least 1,000 contracts of open interest.

Selling a call doesn’t lock you into your position until expiration.
You can always buy back the call and remove your obligation to deliver
Tip 4: stock. If the stock has dropped since you sold the call, you may be able
Plan in case to buy the call back at a lower cost than the initial sale price, making
a profit on the option position. The buy-back also removes your
of downward obligation to deliver stock if assigned. If you choose, you can then
movement dump your long stock position, preventing further losses if the
stock continues to drop.

If you write a covered call and your underlying stock shoots skyward,
exceeding the option’s strike price, you will be forced to sell your
shares at the strike price. While you could purchase back your covered
Tip 5: call, it will likely cost you significantly more than the original premium.
Even though you may part with the stock, you still receive benefits
Plan in case of from the call option. When you sell a covered call, you should be willing
to sell the shares at the strike price.
rapidly upward
Any time you plan to use options, including covered calls on your
movement investments, it is critically important to have a comprehensive plan.
To learn more about our long-term investment strategy that
includes covered calls as a primary component, check our
Strategy web page.

Contact Us:
The intent of this handout is to help expand your financial education.
support@snideradvisors.com
All investors should consult a qualified professional before trading in any security.
1-888-676-4337
How to Select a Broker
for Covered Calls

Covered calls are a great low-risk strategy to generate a predictable income from an
existing portfolio. By selling call options against stocks that you own, you can generate an
income above and beyond equity dividends and recoup some losses if the stock declines
in value. The only “cost” is opportunity cost if the stock rises above the strike price.

Many retirement investors don’t have experience with covered calls and others may not
even have a brokerage account setup. Unlike stocks, options require a special agreement
with your broker and have their own commission and fee schedules. Some brokers even
provide unique tools and research to help you identify profitable option trades.

In this chapter, we will look at how to choose the best brokerage account for
covered call options.

What Is a Good Broker?

Choosing the right broker depends on your individual circumstances, but there are some
attributes that good brokers share.

High-quality option brokers share several characteristics:

Low Fees & Minimums: Fees can have a significant impact on long-term performance.
At the same time, some brokers may require you to deposit tens of thousands of
dollars, which can be a dealbreaker for smaller investors.

Options Focus: Many brokers offer some options trading functionality, but it helps to
sign up with a broker with option-specific capabilities. That way, you can benefit from
better tooling, pricing, and resources.

Customer Service: Sooner or later, you will need help from your broker with some type
of complication or problem. When this happens, you will want a good, knowledgeable
support team to resolve your issue.
 Reputation & Financial Stability: This is very likely your life savings or a good portion of
it. Trusting it to an app developer may not be the best idea. Depending on the securities
and type of account, a broker will have insurance through the FDIC and SIPC. Most carry
additional insurance through a private provider to add extra protection for their
account holders.

Trade Execution: This is one of the most important but hard to define benefits of a good
broker. Their ability to execute trades at a better price can add up to thousands of
dollars over the years. This factor is even more important when trading options.

Commissions & Fees

There’s no doubt that commissions and fees
have a significant impact on investment
performance. For example, a trader placing
12 covered call trades per year might pay
$250 in fees. Cutting this cost in half will save
you thousands of dollars over many years
and the savings will be invested for
compound growth.

Brokerage accounts charge a variety of different fees, but the most obvious fees are
commissions. Commissions are charged each time a trade is executed—including both
buying and selling transactions. Most investors are familiar with stock commissions, but
option commissions typically involve two fees—a per-trade fee and a per-contract fee.

Option trades typically involve paying a fixed fee per trade, ranging from $3.00 to $7.00,
and a variable fee based on the number of contracts, ranging from $0.15 to $0.75 per
contract. A trade consisting of five contracts could therefore cost between $3.75 and
$10.75, depending on the commissions charged by your specific broker.

There are also several other types of fees that brokers may assess, including service fees,
regulatory fees, and market fees. It’s important to consider all of these different fees when
choosing the right brokerage.
Service Fees
• Statement Fees
• Account Transfer Fees
• Wire Transfer Fees

Regulatory Fees
• Section 31 Fees
• Options Regulatory Fees
• Trading Activity Fees

Service Fees
• Level I and II Quotes
• Research Subscription Fees

Trading Features
Brokerages offer both software and research subscriptions to help traders identify
potential opportunities. If you’re using an option strategy like The Snider Method, you don’t
have to worry about these features since there’s already a well-defined strategy in place to
identify opportunities. But traders starting from scratch might need these tools.

The most helpful trading software for covered call option trading are option screeners.
These screeners help traders automatically identify opportunities based on a specific
set of criteria. For example, Snider Advisors has a free screener that you
can use to find both weekly and monthly covered call positions. Check it out here:
https://www.snideradvisors.com/free-covered-call-screener/.

Research subscriptions could also be valuable for active traders. In addition to daily market
reviews, these subscriptions help traders find more subjective opportunities in the market.
TDAmeritrade’s MarketEdge, for example, provides a daily analysis on 4,000 stocks.
It’s important to weigh the cost of commissions with the features that you need
to find trading opportunities.
Popular Brokers
There are many different brokerages for options traders. Most of the dedicated providers,
such as optionsXpress (acquired by Charles Schwab) and OptionHouse (acquired by
eTrade), have been acquired by larger companies, which has limited the choices.

The Bottom Line

Covered calls are a great way to generate income from an existing stock portfolio.
When choosing a broker to execute these strategies, traders should consider both
commissions and account features. The good news is that there are many different options
available. If you use a strategy like The Snider Method, you can confidently select low-cost
brokerages to realize the best of both worlds—low costs and a reliable strategy to generate
an income during retirement.

For more information, take our free online course to learn more about covered call
options and how The Snider Method can help you generate a reliable retirement income.

Snider Advisors has an economic incentive for recommending that clients open an account
with Ally. Specifically, Snider Advisors receives a flat referral payment for each new
account it refers to Ally. More detailed information about the relationship and our fiduciary
responsibility can be found in our ADV Part 2A. Clients may contact Snider Advisors with
any questions about the terms of the Agreement with Ally.
 Covered Call Cost Worksheet
This is an extra resource to go along with the original article:
How to Select a Broker for Covered Calls

BROKER COMPARISON
Trading Costs Broker #1 Broker #2 Broker #3
Stock Commission
Option Commission
Per Contract Fee
Assignment Fee
Inactivity Fee

Other Costs Broker #1 Broker #2 Broker #3

Paper Statements
Maintenance Fees
Transfer Fees
Termination Fees

Other Factors Broker #1 Broker #2 Broker #3

Interest on Cash
Account Minimum

EXAMPLE TRADE
Broker #1 Broker #2 Broker #3
Stock Commission

Option Commission + (Per Contract

Fees x Numbers of Contracts)

Assignment and/or Commission

& Fees Upon Sale

Total Trade Cost

Tips for Managing
Covered Call Positions

Covered calls are a great way to generate extra income from a stock portfolio. While the
strategy is fairly straightforward, there are many nuances that can make managing a
covered call position challenging—especially when the stock pays dividends or if the price
is approaching the strike price near expiration.

In this chapter, we will take a closer look at covered calls, various possible outcomes, and
actions that you can take to address any issues that arise over time.

Covered Calls 101

Covered calls are a great way to generate income from existing stocks that you own.
The option buyer will pay you a cash premium for the right to purchase stock from you at
a set price until the option expires. If the option expires, you keep the premium and the
stock. If the option is exercised, you keep the premium and sell the stock at the agreed
upon price.

Let’s look at an example:

Suppose that you own 100 shares of Acme Co. at $10 per share. You sell one covered call
with a strike price of $12 that expires in one month with a $1.25 premium. You immediately
receive $125 in cash (100 shares x $1.25) minus any commissions on the trade, which varies
depending on your broker.

There are three possible scenarios:

• The stock rallies above $12 and your shares are “called away”, which means that you
must sell them at $12 to the option buyer. You will earn a 32.5 percent return on the
position (20 percent gain in the stock plus the premium), but you lose out on any upside
beyond that amount.

• The stock falls below $12 and you keep your shares but have unrealized losses on the
stock. The good news is that the option premium helps offset these losses.
• The stock trades just below $12 at expiration, which means you get to keep your shares
and the premium. This is the most profitable and best-case scenario since the stock
appreciated in value and you can keep the premium.

Managing Covered Calls

Covered calls are managed differently
depending on how they’re used in a
portfolio. If you are using them to exit an
existing stock position, you may simply
choose an option and execute the trade.
There’s no need to spend time picking stocks
or managing the position if your goal is to
sell the stock. But most investors use
covered calls to generate an income.

In this case, there are four steps to covered call writing:

1. Selecting a Stock: Covered calls can be written against most blue-chip stocks but
selecting the right stocks can help maximize income generation and minimize risk.

2. Selecting an Option: Choosing the right option also helps maximize the profitability of
a trade, while minimizing the risk of the option being called away.

3. Executing the Trade: Most trades are executed just prior to expiration on the third
Friday of each month, but there may be exceptions for special situations.

4. Managing the Position: Many traders place limit orders to buy back call options in
stages, or it may be necessary to roll out options that are at risk of being called away.

Managing covered call positions can be challenging given the wide range of possible
scenarios. If you’re looking for a simple approach, Snider Advisors provides a framework
for selecting the right stocks and options, as well as managing the trade to maximize
profitability and minimize risk.
How to Handle Problems
Suppose that a covered call position is at risk of being called away because the stock price
is rapidly moving towards the strike price. You might not want this to happen because it
could lead to realized capital gains. Or, you might not want to deal with the pain of
repurchasing the stock for the portfolio.

There are several possible actions that you can take:

You could take no action and let the stock be called away at or before expiration. In most
cases, you could still realize a net profit on the position, if the call option was
out-of-the-money. The downside is that an unrealized gain can become a realized gain for
tax purposes for the year.

You could close out or unwind the position by buying back the covered call and either
retaining or selling the stock. Often, this is a good option if there’s an ex-dividend date
approaching (close out) or if the stock price moves sharply higher and you want to lock in
gains (unwind).

Or, you could rollout the position by buying back the covered call and then selling a new
call at a later date, higher strike price, or both. These strategies work best when the price
is approaching the strike price and you’d like to keep the stock, and you may adjust the
next strike price based on sentiment.

These are all different options for managing a covered call position that may not be going
in your favor. The right decision depends on your sentiment on the underlying stock
(bullish or bearish) and your income goals.
The Bottom Line
Covered calls are a great way to generate income from a stock portfolio. While everyone
hopes that the trade goes according to plan, there are some cases where you may be at
risk of having to deliver stock. The good news is that you can take several actions in these
cases to adjust your position.

If you’re overwhelmed by managing covered calls, you may want to consider Snider
Advisor’s well-defined approach to the strategy. Sign up for a free course today to learn
more about how to generate an income from a stock portfolio without spending all your
time creating and managing positions.
 COVERED CALL
Position Management Worksheet
This is an extra resource to go along with the original article:
Tips for Managing Covered Call Positions

NO ACTION REQUIRED:
Expire Worthless
How it works: Your option expires worthless at expiration. You keep the premium.
When it works: The stock’s price is less than the strike price at expiration.

Assignment
How it works: Your broker automatically sells your shares at the strike price of the option
at or before expiration. You keep the premium.
When it works: The stock’s price exceeds the strike price and you don’t care if the stock gets called away.

CLOSE SOME OR ALL OF THE POSITION:

Close Out the Call
How it works: “Buy to Close” the covered call you originally sold and retain the stock. Depending on the price of the
option, it could cost you more than the premium you received when you placed the covered call trade.
When it works: If your option is in-the-money and you don’t want to sell your stock, you must buy back the option. In an
ideal situation, the stock’s price is only slightly above your stock’s price.

Unwind
How it works: “Buy to Close” the covered call and sell your shares of stock.
When it works: You want to lock in profits or avoid losses. By closing out the entire position
you eliminate all market risk.

ROLLING THE OPTION:

Rollout
How it works: “Buy to Close” an expiring covered call and “Sell to Open” the same strike covered call at an expiration in
the future. You collect the additional time premium in the future option.
When it works: When you want to avoid the stock being called away and want to continue to utilize the shares to sell calls
in the future.

Rollout and Up
How it works: “Buy to Close” an expiring covered call and “Sell to Open” a covered call with a higher strike price and
expiration in the future.
When it works: When you want to avoid the stock being called away and want to give the stock more room to appreciate
in the future.

Rollout and Down

How it works: “Buy to Close” an expiring covered call and “Sell to Open” a covered call with a lower strike price and
expiration in the future.
When it works: The stock’s price has declined or you are willing to sell your shares at the lower strike price.
You will collect more premium by selling a call at a lower strike price.

Contact Us: The intent of this handout is to help expand your

support@snideradvisors.com
1-888-676-4337
Disclosure

Chronim Investments, Inc. d/b/a Snider Advisors is an SEC-Registered Investment Advisor.

No statement in this E-book should be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell a

security or to provide investment advice unless specifically stated as such. Past
performance is not guarantee of future results. All Securities involve risk and may result in
a loss. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses
of the Fund/Portfolio carefully before investing. Historical and expected returns, as well as
future projections may not reflect actual performance.

(C) 2002-2019 Chronim Investments, Inc. All Rights Reserved.