Sunday, 1 April 2012

Benefits To Using Covered Calls

By Robert Williams


For people who want to make income with the stock market one of the best methods of doing this is to use covered calls. A covered call is a type of option where you own the stock and are selling someone the option of buying this security at a future price for a set amount of money.

The reasons that these financial instruments have become so popular is that they are relatively safe. A person is not risking anything by selling an option other than the stock, which they own. They will still make money if the option is used, however the real reason that these calls are so safe is that you own the stock. A call where you do not own the stock is called a naked call and this style of investment is very dangerous and risky.

What you need to do is determine what type of stock is right for you to use. Many people suggest using a strategy that buys a highly traded stock. This is because the more volume the more option activity. This is a great thing to look for when you are going to be buying a security.

There are two reasons for selecting an out of the money or at money price. You need to keep in mind that you always want to make money. Therefore you should never sell a call for less than the price you paid for your stock. For instance, if you brought a share of a company for ten dollars you would not want to sell it for five dollars. You want to sell it for at least ten, preferably more.

The next thing is to pick a stock that has a decent amount of volume. The most popular stocks for options trading are those that have decent amounts of trading. This is why it is popular to select a security that has daily trading volume that is high compared to the rest of the market.

The next thing that you want to do is determine which type of stock is good to buy and use for covered calls. There are several things that come into consideration. The first is that you want a stock that has high volume. If there is not high enough volume then options are not going to be desirable. This is because options are sold and brought on stocks that are expected to move a considerable amount.

Once you have picked your stock the next thing is to determine what price you want. If you are the type that wants a steady stream of income but does not want to sell the stock then it is appropriate to sell a small option because your underlying security is unlikely to be sold. These options are often times out of the money and the premium you receive will be small. On the other hands the higher the premium the closer the option will be to what is called at the money. This means there is a higher likelihood that the option will be used.

When you engage in covered call selling you stand to make steady income. What you need to do is make sure that you have selected a security that you are comfortable owing and will not want to sell. This is the reasons that many people choose safe stocks or investments in companies that are holding gold. These funds and stocks have value and are highly traded.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment