Calendar Spread – The Option Traders Favorite

Warning: gzinflate() [function.gzinflate]: data error in /home/chrissti/public_html/pennystockrobots.com/reviews/wp-includes/http.php on line 1787

The Calendar Spread is an option income strategy used by professional traders to generate steady monthly income. It can also be used by retail traders who have educated themselves on how to properly use this strategy to not only generate cashflow – but to also benefit their overall portfolio.

The calendar spread is a theta trade – an option trade that benefits and generates profit – from the fact that options are a decaying asset. As time goes by, options decay – and the value that was initially in the option that was sold evaporates – leaving cash in the calendar spread traders pocket.

These trades can be built from call options as well as put options. In order to create a calendar spread trade, the option trader sells a near month strike on an underlying vehicle – and then buys a later month at the identical strike. Profit can be made from this trade because what happens over time is that the time premium in the closer month option decays at a much faster speed than the later month option. What is left over at expiration day is the difference of the two – which is what gives the trader profit.

Following is a made up example of a calendar spread place on SPY: Buy 1 Aug 105 call. Sell 1 Sept 105 call.

Now while in the example above the calendar position was created using joined together months, calendar spreads can also be created with a gap between the months.

For example, rather than constructing a calendar spread using Aug and Sept month options, it could be created using a Aug month option and an Oct month option – or a Aug month option an a Nov month option.

Usually this strategy is employed when the person trading it has a neutral outlook on the the vehicle being traded. These trades cal also be used in a more speculative way however – where the trader would place the calendar spread at the strike price he or she believes the underlying vehicle will be trading at on expiration day.

When you talk with some option traders, some will tell you they prefer the calendar spread strategy because they believe they are easier to manage than some of the other strategies like the iron condor, credit spread, or the butterfly spread. Regardless, the calendar spread is a great strategy to learn and have ready to use in your ‘option trading toolbox’.

Want to find out more about the Calendar Spread, then visit David Harms’s site on how to choose the best Credit Spread for your option income trading needs.

Tweet This Post