Covered call writing options is an investment strategy that can help to limit your risk. They can be so effective and safe tools that big financial institutions use them along with regular day traders. They can be used in any market situation, whether the market is up or down.
It is important to choose the right stocks when trading options. Choosing high quality stocks with strong earnings is the game plan. It is also a good idea to choose stocks with dividends, to boost your gain even further.
To be successful at it you must become knowledgeable and skilled in this area. The basic idea of writing a covered call is when you buy some shares of a stock, then write or sell call options against those shares for profits. You can do this with stocks that you already own as well. The profit that you make is called the option premium. Upon expiration, you have a choice either to sell your shares and keep the premium, or keep the shares and write or sell more options for the next expiration date.
Don’t worry about down trending stocks. You can easily hedge against it using options tools. When you marry a call with a put you get protection from the downside. Use puts when you’re not sure whether the stock will go up or down or if you think it will go down. This is a strategy that works in up and down cycles and helps to protect your investments. It is also a good way to manage your risk.
Eighty to ninety percent of options expire as flat and worthless. So it is better to be a seller of options rather than a buyer. Expiration takes place once a month and if the stock is flat, then you get to keep the premium.
It is important in all types of trading to write down your trading plan in advance. This way you will know what to do if the stock goes down or up quickly. Volatility as a key factor should be learned and kept track of as it can affect the price of stock options.
Covered call writing can be used as an investment plan that can supplement your income by 3 to 10% or more from month to month. Always manage your risk as all trading has some risk involved. Plan to learn all you can about it before you attempt to trade them. This will ensure you have the skills and knowledge needed to be a success in options. Research your stock picks and trade carefully.
Born To Sell, www.borntosell.com, is a website for covered call trading. A lot of people use covered call writing to increase their yield on dividend paying large cap stocks.