Options Academy
Covered Calls 106: Advanced Variations (Convertibles & LEAPS)
You don't always need to own the common stock. Learn how to write calls against Convertible Bonds and LEAPS (The Poor Man's Covered Call) to juice returns.
Writing Against Convertible Securities
You can write covered calls against Convertible Bonds or Preferred Stock instead of common stock.
Advantage: Convertibles often pay a higher yield than the common stock. You get Bond Yield + Option Premium.
Math: Determine the conversion ratio (e.g., 1 Bond = 50 Shares). You need 2 bonds to cover 1 call (100 shares).
Writing Against LEAPS (PMCC)
Also known as the "" or "Diagonal Spread".
Instead of buying 100 shares of stock (expensive), you buy 1 Deep In-The-Money LEAPS Call (cheaper).
The LEAPS acts as a "surrogate stock". It moves closely with the stock (Delta ~0.90) but costs a fraction of the price.
You then sell short-term calls against this LEAPS. Your ROI is significantly higher because your capital base is smaller.
The "Incremental Return" Concept
Large stockholders often use an incremental approach. They don't write against their whole position at once.
They ladder their writes: 1/3 of position at Strike A, 1/3 at Strike B, 1/3 unwritten.
Or they ladder by time: 1/3 expiring in Jan, 1/3 in Feb, 1/3 in Mar.
This ensures you never get "stopped out" of your entire holding on a single rally and smooths out your cash flow.
Key takeaways
- Convertible securities can boost yield in a covered write structure.
- LEAPS allow you to execute covered calls with much less capital (PMCC).
- Ladder your writes (Time or Price) to diversify risk.
- This concludes the Chapter 2 Covered Call Masterclass.
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Covered Call Masterclass
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