Collar Option Strategy
A collar options strategy that consists of buying or owning
the stock, and then buying a put
option at strike price A, and selling a call
option at strike price B. An options trader who enters this
strategy wants the stock to trade higher and get called away at the call strike
price B. However, also wants protection in case the stock price falls below
strike price A, giving the them the right to exercise the option contract and
sell the stock if it does.
A collar option is essentially what would happen if a trader
wants to run a covered call and a protective put at the same time. This strategy is usually
executed when the investor wants downside protection but does not want to pay
for it. So to cover their cost, they limit their upside potential in exchange
for capping their downside exposure. This strategy may be applied to both
short-term and long-term positions.
When to Use a Collar
An investor
should consider using a collar if they are bullish on the stock for the long
run, but are concerned about short-term downward movement. Such things might
include uncertainty about earnings, a world health pandemic, or any other short-term market
uncertainty.
An investor
may also use a collar when they have significant gains in stock that they wish
not to risk. Here an investor can implement a collar option strategy to protect
the profits they have already generated.
To
implement the collar, the investor purchases an out of the money put option,
which protects against a price drop in the stock. They then offset the premium
paid for this put option by selling an out of the money call option,
expiring in the same month against it.
The
collar is a highly useful strategy in a volatile market, it protects the
investor for little to no cost, giving them the ability to limit their
potential loss if the stock trades down, in exchange for limiting their
potential profit. Because the call option is sold above the stock price, there
is still room for the investor to profit, while at the same time, easing their
concern with the stock trading down.
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