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yanoshi

How to repair multi-leg strategy if you get assigned

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Say I have an options strategy which requires me to hold a Synthetic short stock position for 1 year. 

So that's: a Long put with 1 year expiration + a Short Call with 1 year expiration, with both at the same Strike price. 

My strategy requires me to hold it for at least 1 year. 

However, lets say 6 months into the year, my short call is deep in the money and gets assigned, so I am obligated to fulfill it. Now my multi-leg strategy is broken as my short call position is gone. How would I go about reconstructing it so I can continue on the position for the rest of the year?

Would I just Instantly sell the same calls at the same strike price with the same expiry? I assume the credits from selling the same calls would essentially cover the loss from the assignment, and the position would continue on? 

Thanks

Edited by yanoshi

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@yanoshi- For this scenario to happen using longer dated options a year out when you opened the trade, the trade would have to be down by almost 100% (based on the margin requirement of the uncovered short call).   The only was you would have assignment risk is if there is basically no premium left in your short call - at the only way that would happen would be for it to be very deep in the money.  And if that were to happen your long put would likely be worth close to nothing.    I would think you would have closed this synthetic short well before the losses got this high.

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20 minutes ago, Yowster said:

@yanoshi- For this scenario to happen using longer dated options a year out when you opened the trade, the trade would have to be down by almost 100% (based on the margin requirement of the uncovered short call).   The only was you would have assignment risk is if there is basically no premium left in your short call - at the only way that would happen would be for it to be very deep in the money.  And if that were to happen your long put would likely be worth close to nothing.    I would think you would have closed this synthetic short well before the losses got this high.

 

 

Thanks for your reply. 

However, regardless of how large my paper loss is on my short call, I still wish to hold this position until expiry, as it is part of a wider strategy. 

So if I get assigned on my short call when it is deep in the money, I would realise a large loss. However my question is, if this happens, could I just instantly sell the same calls with the same strike & expiry? As the option is deep in the money, the calls would have high intrinsic value and so the credits from that would surely almost cover the losses from the assignment? And so then my synthetic short stock position would continue on ... (?)

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1 minute ago, yanoshi said:

Thanks for your reply. 

However, regardless of how large my paper loss is on my short call, I still wish to hold this position until expiry, as it is part of a wider strategy. 

So if I get assigned on my short call when it is deep in the money, I would realise a large loss. However my question is, if this happens, could I just instantly sell the same calls with the same strike & expiry? As the option is deep in the money, the calls would have high intrinsic value and so the credits from that would surely almost cover the losses from the assignment? And so then my synthetic short stock position would continue on ... (?)

@yanoshiIf you would sell the same calls again with the same strike & expiry you would very likely just get assigned again (since the calls would have basically all intrinsic value and no time premium).   But note that after this assignment, your synthetic short has turned into a real short position since you will be short the actual stock.   So, if you want to continue the short you would have two options:

  • Just stay short the stock and don't do anything further with short calls.  Of course, you would likely be paying margin interest on the short stock.
  • Buy back your short stock at a large loss, and then re-establish the synthetic short using the current ATM strikes.

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17 minutes ago, Yowster said:

@yanoshiIf you would sell the same calls again with the same strike & expiry you would very likely just get assigned again (since the calls would have basically all intrinsic value and no time premium).   But note that after this assignment, your synthetic short has turned into a real short position since you will be short the actual stock.   So, if you want to continue the short you would have two options:

  • Just stay short the stock and don't do anything further with short calls.  Of course, you would likely be paying margin interest on the short stock.
  • Buy back your short stock at a large loss, and then re-establish the synthetic short using the current ATM strikes.
 

If I was assigned early, I would technically be keeping the small time value that's left. if I were to cover my now short position at a loss, and then sell the same calls with the same expiry and strike, I would be receiving an amount essentially equal to the amount I lost from covering, Plus the time value portion of the calls I just sold. 

So doesn't it all workout well in the end?

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17 minutes ago, yanoshi said:

If I was assigned early, I would technically be keeping the small time value that's left. if I were to cover my now short position at a loss, and then sell the same calls with the same expiry and strike, I would be receiving an amount essentially equal to the amount I lost from covering, Plus the time value portion of the calls I just sold. 

So doesn't it all workout well in the end?

@yanoshiThe only way you are going to get assigned if there is basically zero time value left, so there will be no time value in the calls you are selling beyond a penny or two.   So lets say you go short the same strike & expiry again and use the proceeds to cover your short stock.  Guess what, you are extremely likely to get assigned again (probably the next day) because the same reason you got assigned the first time will happen again - no time value left in your short call.    If you want to remain short you will either have to stay short with the stock as a result of the assignment, or (if you want to have a synthetic short via the options) buy back the short stock at a big loss and construct you new synthetic short using options that are at ATM strikes.

Edited by Yowster

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3 minutes ago, Yowster said:

@yanoshiThe only way you are going to get assigned if there is basically zero time value left, so there will be no time value in the calls you are selling beyond a penny or two.   So lets say you go short the same strike & expiry again and use the proceeds to cover your short stock.  Guess what, you are extremely likely to get assigned again (probably the next day) because the same reason you got assigned the first time will happen again - no time value left in your short call.    If you want to remain short you will either have to stay short with the stock as a result of the assignment, or (if you want to have a synthetic short via the options) buy back the short stock at a big loss and construct you new synthetic short using options that are at ATM strikes.

That's true, I would probably only get assigned at expiration, or close to it as there is little to no time value left. That is all fine as stated in my original post that my intention was to hold this synthetic short position until expiry. I was just asking about being assigned well before expiry, say when it still has 50% of its time left to expire. 

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1 minute ago, yanoshi said:

That's true, I would probably only get assigned at expiration, or close to it as there is little to no time value left. That is all fine as stated in my original post that my intention was to hold this synthetic short position until expiry. I was just asking about being assigned well before expiry, say when it still has 50% of its time left to expire. 

@yanoshi - Yes, the only way you would get assigned when half the time is still left is if the trade is a huge loser.   People sometimes fear assignment risk, but it really only comes into play if the option is so deep ITM that there is zero time value left.   If you would happen to get assigned on an option that still has time value left, then that would be a good thing as you would essentially get to keep the money associated with the time value.

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      Once again, the trader is better off.  Delta of the short put is not one, rather it had a dynamic average of .95.  This means the value of the put would have declined not to $5.11 (the previous price of $8.11 - $5.11), but, by $2.85 to $5.26.  Closing that option position would result in a loss of $860 on the trade ($5.26-$3.11).
       
      The Market goes down

      The scariest situation for a trader is waking up the next morning and the market has declined.  Instead of SPY $285, the market might have continued to go down to SPY $282 (or worse).  In this case, the trader sells the stock for $282, resulting in a loss of $11 per share for a total loss on the trade of $3,156 ($11-$3.11).
       
      Yet again, the trader is better off.  With the market going down from $285 to $282, the dynamic delta average is .98 and time value has dropped a bit, and the short put is now worth $11.03.  Closing this put for a loss of $11.03 results in a total loss on the trade of $3,168.  Even if the market had plunged down to SPY 100, the two positions would have been equivalent – meaning that the loss by being assigned equals the loss of having been in the short put.
       
      In other words, in every market situation, the trader is either better off or exactly the same when assigned the position rather than having simply held the short put.  The closer delta is to 1, the more likely you are to be assigned, but even in that situation, you would be no worse off between assignment and holding.
       
      But if that’s true for puts, is it also true for calls?

      Let’s take a common example.  You sell 5 contracts of the $100 call on Stock ABC that is currently trading at $99 for $2.00.  You are now short the $100 call.  You receive $1,000.  It expires in 3 weeks.  Two weeks from now the stock is trading at $99.80 with earnings coming up tomorrow, and the option is trading at $1.00.You have $1,000 in cash and -$500 in call value.  Someone exercises the option.  The next morning your account looks like:
      Short 500 shares ABC at a value of $49,900 Long $51,000 cash ($50,000 for sale of stock at $100/share plus $1,000 from the sale)                
      Are you in trouble?  Did you lose money?  Once again no, you’re not. Let’s look at what happens in each situation at market open:
       
      The Market stays flat at $99.80

      In this situation, you buy back the 500 shares of Stock ABC for $49,900.  You keep the $51,000 and did not have to buy back the call.  So you’re up $1,1000.
       
      If you had not closed the position out, not been assigned, and the market stayed flat, the price of the option may have declined to around $0.50. 

      Clearly, you are better off because of the assignment – by over $800.
       
      The Market goes down (any amount)

      Earnings come out and the price drops to $90 (or any value below $100).  In this situation, you buy back the 500 shares for $45,000.  You keep the $51,000 and did not have to buy back the call.  So you’re up $6,000.
       
      If you had not closed the position out, not been assigned, and the market went down, the price of the option may have declined to $0.01.
       
      Again, you are better off because of the assignment – by almost $6,000.

      The Market goes up by less than $2 (to under $102)

      Earnings come out, and the price increases to $102 (or anything between the last close and $102).  You buy back the shares for $51,000.  This nets out the cash you already had and did not have to buy back the calls.  In this situation you break even.

      If you had not closed the position out, not been assigned, and the market went up, the price of the option contract would have increased to at least $2.00. 

      In this case, you are in the same boat because of the assignment.  Closing the short contract at $2.00 would cost you $1,000, which nets to $0.00 with the $1,000 you received from the sale.
       
      The Market goes up by more than $2 (e.g. $110)

      Earnings come out, and the price increases to $110.  In this situation you must buy the shares back for $55,000.  Offsetting with the cash already received, you have lost $4,000.

      If you had not closed the position out, not been assigned, and the market went up a significant amount, the option price would have increased to at least $10.  Closing this short contract out will cost $5,000. You are again better off because of the assignment.

      In other words, in every situation you are in an equal or better situation because of an assignment.  This is because options have time value – which an early assignment forfeits to the option contract holder.  Even if the option contract had no time value left in it, the worst situation is still break even.

      The only real risk to assignment is failing to quickly move and adjust the position (eliminate the oversized short position), your account goes into a Reg-T call, and your broker starts closing positions in a non-efficient manner.There are brokers who also require margin calls to be covered by cash deposits, instead of adjusting positions.  (Very few).  If that’s the case, you may get a demand for cash (and switch brokers). 
       
      As long as you stay on top of your positions and address any assignments, there is no reason to fear early assignment since in all situations you will be either equal or better off on early assignments.  This is why I am almost always surprised by early assignments.  The only time early assignment really ever makes sense is on surprise dividend announcements that weren’t originally calculated into the option prices – and even then, as the price of the option likely moved before the assignment occurred, there may be no impact.
       
      What any option investor should always keep in mind is what to do if they get assigned early, what that will look like, and what trades will need to be entered the next business day.  Being prepared prevents fear and mistakes – particularly when there is no need for that fear in the first place.
                     
      Christopher Welsh is a licensed investment advisor and president of LorintineCapital, LP. He provides investment advice to clients all over the United States and around the world. Christopher has been in financial services since 2008 and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. Working with a CFP® professional represents the highest standard of financial planning advice. Christopher has a J.D. from the SMU Dedman School of Law, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, and a Bachelor of Science in Economics. Christopher is a regular contributor to the Steady Options Anchor Strategy and Lorintine CapitalBlog.
       
      Related articles
      Can Options Assignment Cause Margin Call? Assignment Risks To Avoid The Right To Exercise An Option? Options Expiration: 6 Things To Know Early Exercise: Call Options Expiration Surprises To Avoid Assignment And Exercise: The Mental Block Should You Close Short Options On Expiration Friday?  
    • By tjlocke99
      Hello.
      Recently I was researching what happens if I hold a covered call through earnings.
      I came across this article on theoptionsguide.com
      http://www.theoption...ered-calls.aspx
      It discusses writing a covered call but shorting a DITM call to try to scalp the dividend.
      It seems the reasons this strategy will not work is because it is likely you will be assigned on that DITM call.
      However could someone explain to me how that would work? Let's take a hypothetical example:
      GD ex-dividend date 10/3 for $.51 a share
      Let's say GD is trading at $65.00
      On 10/2 during the day you go long 100 shares and sell a $63 Oct call for $2.00 even.
      On 10/3 the stock drops and closes at $64.50
      What would happen regarding you being assigned? Also do you need to be long the shares on 10/2 or is getting long the shares on 10/3 sufficient to receive the dividend when it is payed?
      Thank you!
    • By Azov
      Just wondering if anyone has ever had success negotiating with TOS to reduce/remove the $19.95 fee that TOS charges for assignment and exercise. If so, what kind of arguments worked best?
       
      I agree with Kim that we shouldn’t have to negotiate to get the best rates. However, I greatly prefer TOS’s platform to anything else out there. I’ve been using tastyworks for a while now too, and their platform is only ok, but it’s still a work in progress, and they still charge $5 for assignment/exercise. 
       
      The reason I’m asking - and not considering IB’s $0 assignments- is because I’m evaluating a couple of candidates for wheel trades (sell puts, get assigned, sell covered calls, get assigned, rinse/repeat). Since the cycle involves two assignments, the $40-ish total fees at TOS is cost prohibitive. And I refuse to use IB because of their auto-liquidation algorithm - I don’t want to have my account blown up if I get assigned on a couple of different positions one night and don’t have a chance to close things out within 10 minutes of the market opening. 
       
      So if I could get TOS to come down or eliminate their assignment fee, that would be great. Otherwise I’m stuck with TW - I suppose I’ll get more used to their platform over time, but everything about their apps makes me feel like I’m playing an arcade game from the 80s. And not in a good way....
       
      Any input is greatly appreciated!
       
    • By cwelsh
      If you don't you can find your entire account blown out over a weekend.
       
      Assignments occur in two basic varieties. First, on expiration Friday (or Thursday or Wednesday depending on the instrument your trading, but most commonly on Friday). If you have a position that is .01 in the money, or more, you WILL be assigned. For instance, if you have a 100 Call on stock XYZ that expires today, and XYZ closes (AFTER HOURS) at 100.01, you will find that you own, sometime Saturday, 100 shares of XYZ that you paid $100/share for.
       
      Now this option might have only cost you $100 or so. But all of a sudden, due to the inherent multiplier in options, you are now out of pocket $10,000.00. What if you're account only had $5,000.00 in it? Well, you are going to get both a Regulation T Notice and margin call from your broker. First thing Monday morning, your broker will automatically liquidate the position. What if there is adverse news over the weekend and the opening price is only $80? Well you just lost $2,000.0 -- in a $5,000.00 account. In other words, that $100 option just cost you 40% of your entire account. This happens.

      What if you had "hedged" the position though, and had a vertical call spread? For instance, you might have bought the $100/$105 spread on XYZ. Well if XYZ closes anywhere above $105 you are ok because BOTH positions will be auto-exercised. This SOMETIMES results in a margin call as well -- but don't worry. Option clear throughout the day on Saturday and your account will frequently show one position and the other not exercised yet. By Sunday morning it will be fixed. By way of example, I had a very large position (for me) (20 contracts) in the LNKD 92.5/95 vertical call before earnings. Well earnings did what they were supposed to and LNKD jumped to 104. Well Saturday morning, all of a sudden, I was SHORT 2000 shares of LNKD and had received roughly $190K in cash into my account. This sends off all kinds of margin alerts. I got an email, a call, and another call. Ignore them. The 92.5 side simply hadn't cleared yet. Three hours later the other option cleared, buying the shorts back at 92.5. Then Sunday morning, your account statement will reflect that all trades happened at the same time.

      HOWEVER, what if, on that 100/105 spread, XYZ closes at 103 on Friday? Well, guess what, you'll be assigned on the 100 position, the 105 will expire worthless, and now your back in margin call.

      MORAL OF THE STORY:
      DON'T EVER LET YOURSELF BE ASSIGNED ON A SPREAD THATS NOT FAR IN THE MONEY ON BOTH LEGS.


      Image courtesy of https://www.projectoption.com. 

      What if, on Friday, the price of XYZ was at $106 at close? You better have closed the spread, because of after hours trading. The price of XYZ can move after hours -- but you can't get out of the options. So if the market closes at 106, and you say good, both legs will clear and I won't pay commissions (or pay less commissions) and get a huge tax break, you could be wrong, as in after hours the market might go back to $104.98. Then you're screwed, only the 100 option gets exercised and you go into margin call. I'm convinced when your near a strike the market makers manipulate the after hours markets to have this happen.

      Of course if you have enough cash in your account, you won't get margin called -- you're risk profile will just be largely out of whack.

      And this isn't to say you can't have a big benefit from this. My single most profitable trade EVER occurred on a spread that was $.50 above the line, I didn't close it, and then in after hours the price dropped. So I got assigned long on the lower strike. Well, that weekend there was big news involving the company and the price jumped 15% the next morning. In that case, here's what happens -- I own the 100 (long) /105 (short) vertical. After hours, the price is $104.92. Well that spread was worth $4.85 at close on 20 contracts, or $9,700. Well, Saturday I'm now the proud owner of 2,000 shares bought at $100.00 each, for a net cost of $200,000 -- oops. Margin call, broker call, broker email, etc. Well they inform me the trade will immediately close at open on Monday. Well the price jumped, and the position was closed, at $240,000.00. My original investment of $8,500.00, that I didn't want to close at $9,700.00, netted me $40,000.00, or roughly a 470% return. BUT, what if the price had gone down 20%? Well I would be owing my broker money and have completely blown out my account.

      If you have ANY questions on this, please let me know.

      Now SITUATION TWO -- and you will, sooner or later, encounter this. Let's say we have a 100(long)/105 (short) put spread on XYZ. Only we own the September spread and today (Friday) XYZ closes at 103. No big deal - UNLESS someone exercises their 105 option. American style options can be exercised at anytime. Why would this happen with time value? Who knows, most likely someone needed to unwind a position, hedge something, take profits, or any number of things.
       
      Well if you had a 10 contract position, on Saturday your account is down $105,000.00 in cash and you are long 1,000 shares of XYZ. You will again likely go into margin call, unless you had over $105,000 in cash in your account. However, while this is a headache and you will have to deal with your broker, you don't need to panic because the position is still hedged.
       
      So what happens here?  Well when Monday rolls around ideally the price of XYZ has gone up.  If it has, you sell the shares and keep the money.  If the price has gone DOWN though, you stand to lose up to $5,000.00.  You can't lose more than that because you still own the 100 puts.  Depending on what occurs here, your broker might just auto-close the whole position, may allow you to exercise the 100 puts and have that resolve the situation, or may let you just sell off enough to get out of margin call.  Different brokers handle margin violations differently.  The good news is though your losses are capped.

      When this happens, take your lumps and move on. I have this happen about once a quarter and my worse loss was 4%. There's nothing you can do to protect against this. You are hedged, and you won't blow your account out, but it does suck - particularly if the price moves down quite a bit at the open.

      I hope that clears some things. If not, please let us know.

      Christopher Welsh is a licensed investment advisor in the State of Texas and is the president of an investment firm, Lorintine Capital, LP which is a general partner of three separate private funds. He is also an attorney practicing in Dallas, Texas. Chris has been practicing since 2006 and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. Working with a CFP® professional represents the highest standard of financial planning advice. He offers investment advice to his clients, both in the law practice and outside of it. Chris has a Bachelor of Science in Economics, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Texas A&M University, and a law degree from Southern Methodist University. Chris manages the Anchor Trades portfolio, the Steady Options Fund, and oversees Lorintine Capital's distressed real estate debt fund.
       
       
    • By Mark Wolfinger
      Jeff,

      I am here to help you understand how options work, but am at a loss as to where to begin. I’ll explain in the simplest possible language. I am not talking down to you. I am trying to get you to move past a mental block.

      Facts
      Any time that an option is in the money (ITM) at expiration, expect that its owner will exercise. Even when it’s ITM by one penny. The option owner must fill out and submit a DO NOT EXERCISE form to prevent the Options Clearing Corporation from exercising ITM options Many beginners do not know they have the choice to not exercise

      Many beginners forget they own the options or forget that expiration has arrived. As a result, they become owners of stock that they do not want, and cannot afford to purchase

      Many beginners make mistakes. Let’s minimize yours.
       
      Call strike price + premium paid = break-even

      I’ve placed your equation in bold. It is of vital importance that you understand one thing about that equation:

      This equation, all by itself, is the cause of your problem.

      Forget it. It has no relevance on whether anyone exercises an option. Your formula is fine for keeping records, after the trade is closed. It is unimportant now. More than that. It is currently causing confusion and limits your ability to recognize the truth.
       
      Q: Using such a formula, does it follow that when the stock price is less than the break-even, then the call would not be exercised? For example, if at expiration the stock was $15.05 and one had purchased the $15 strike for a $0.10 premium, it seems one would not exercise the option.

      No, it does not follow. If you ignored your break-even equation, you would never ask this question. You believe the owner of your call option would throw away $5, just because it represents a loss! Look at it from the perspective of someone who owns 100 calls. They are worth $500 to the trader.

      You are saying that it ‘seems right’ for trader would throw away $500 because he paid $1,000 for that investment. No one in his right mind would do that.

      To clarify: Have you ever sold stock at a loss? Did you consider telling your broker to take the shares out of your account and to give them to some randomly chosen person? Instead of taking current value for your stock, you could have chosen to make them worthless to yourself. Surely you know not to do that. When taking a loss, you recover some money. Your money. This situation is no different.

      You must not toss cash in the trash just because the trade is at less than break-even.

      If you lost a $10 bill and the next day found a $5 bill, would you refuse to pick it up because your loss was a larger sum? This is exactly the same. You must understand this principle. I don’t know how to make it more clear. Those options are worth $5 apiece and only an idiot would elect not to collect cash for them. [Exercise is a different decision and trust me when I tell you that selling is better for you.] Whoever ends up holding those options will exercise at expiration.

      There is a tiny [my guess is less than one chance in 10 million] that an option ITM by five cents would not be exercised by its owner. But, it remains a possibility. People do make mistakes.

      Q: Yet I have read that options will be exercised if the stock price exceeds the strike price at expiration [MDW: this is only true for calls; for puts the stock must be below the strike], which it does in my example. It makes me wonder if there are other factors being considered by the call buyer. One rule, which I assume is adopted by the industry, is that all options in the money at expiration by $0.05 or more are automatically exercised, unless otherwise directed. What other factors could cause calls to be exercised below the break-even detailed above?

      Yes, automatically exercised. The OCC does not care about break-even. Nor should you. Today the number is ITM by $0.01, not $0.05.

      You want to know what other factors would make someone exercise when that exercise (or sale) results in a loss. Here’s the answer: MONEY.

      When you invest or trade, it is inevitable that you will have losses. When you have a loss, you do not have to lose every penny. The trader is allowed to sell (or exercise) to recover some money. You probably understand that process. However, when expiration comes into the picture, you ignore what you know because you think about that break-even nonsense. When you fail to exercise (or sell), you allow the option to expire WORTHLESS. Why would you take zero for an option that you can sell for $0.05? Answer that one question (correctly) and you will understand.

      How can the original cost matter? That’s your hang-up. That break-even is bothering you. Today, right now, you have a choice. Take $5 or take zero. It’s as simple as that.
       


      Q: Perhaps my question was misunderstood. I discussed selling the call rather than at what stock price a call owner will exercise. I understand and agree with you that it is better to sell your call for any amount rather than let it expire. I also understand what you mean by saying the premium paid is meaningless. Yes, if your plan was to sell the call and not exercise it then the premium paid is meaningless in terms of deciding whether you are going to sell the call or let it expire.[MDW: If you understand that, then why are you asking?]
      (However, the premium is not meaningless if you want to determine if your trading strategy is successful as it represents part of your investment.)

      I did not misunderstand. The premium is meaningless, as you admit.

      You continue to look at useless items. You think record keeping and evaluating your strategy play a role in this discussion. They play no role when it’s time to make a trade decision. They are used after the fact to see how well you did. [If you disagree, and I have no doubt that you do, that discussion is for another time]

      Q: Also, I think you misunderstood my example when I said the stock price was $15.05 and I had a call with a $15 strike for which I paid $0.10. This was interpreted as the stock was trading at $15.10. Perhaps the price relationships I used in my example would not exist in the market. I apologize if I improperly set my example.

      When you buy the call at ten cents, and eventually exercise, then you buy the stock at the strike price ($15) per share, but your cost basis is $15.10. You did not improperly set your example. Nor did I misunderstand.

      Q: Even so, I am encouraged by how you ended your response: “In this scenario you should almost never want to exercise”. This indicates to me that the risk of owning the stock, plus the additional investment required, must produce a greater return than displayed in the example before exercising the call becomes likely (at least for you).

      No, not for me. For everyone. You made an investment. You sought a certain return. You did not earn that return. so what? Today is decision time: You take your $5 or you don’t. ‘Return’ no longer applies.

      You are confused because you are looking at too many variables

      You are concerned with break-even. You are worried about whether your strategy is working. You think about producing ‘a greater return.’ NONE of that matters at the time when the call owner decides what to do with the options: sell, exercise, discard. You either take the $5 or you don’t. It’s that simple. There is nothing else to consider. The fact that you have irrelevant items on your mind is the reason this is a problem.

      Q: I’m still left not knowing at what stock price / strike price combination calls are usually exercised. [MDW: Of course you know. When the stock is at least one penny in the money options are exercised.] I suppose as a buyer it would be when the stock price is greater than the strike price plus the premium. [MDW: NO]As a covered call seller it probably would be best to assume it would be when the stock price exceeds the strike price.[MDW: YES] Although this is not technically correct since a call’s price must be greater than zero to be sold, it’s probably good enough.

      Calls are always exercised when they are in the money at expiration. Period.

      There may be the occasional individual investor who correctly (for his/her situation) decides that exercising is too expensive because of commissions (and there were no bids when he/she tried to sell the call), but in general, all ITM options are exercised. That is all you or anyone needs to know.

      Over the years, if (and only if) you can overcome your mental block, you may not be assigned a couple of times when the option is ITM by a penny or two. Just don’t expect it to happen.
      Q: I appreciate your efforts to help me with my question. I’m sure when my covered calls expire next week I will have an even better understanding that can only come from experience. Thanks again.

      You are welcome. However, your entire conversation was from the point of view of the call owner. As the call seller you will learn zero about the mindset of the call owner. ZERO.

      You must open your mind, throw out your misconceptions, and the truth will be right there in front of you. This is not difficult. This is the easy part. If you cannot understand this, there is no chance you can ever learn to use options effectively.

      Mark Wolfinger has been in the options business since 1977, when he began his career as a floor trader at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). Since leaving the Exchange, Mark has been giving trading seminars as well as providing individual mentoring via telephone, email and his premium Options For Rookies blog. Mark has published four books about options. His Options For Rookies book is a classic primer and a must read for every options trader. Mark holds a BS from Brooklyn College and a PhD in chemistry from Northwestern University.

      If you liked this article, visit our Options Trading Blog for more educational articles about options trading. 

      Related articles:
      Can Options Assignment Cause Margin Call? The Right To Exercise An Option? Options Expiration: 6 Things To Know Early Exercise: Call Options Expiration Surprises To Avoid
       
    • By cwelsh
      By Christopher B. Welsh
      I've had three emails in the past month on people being assigned on positions and receiving margin calls, and generally not knowing what happened. I advise everyone to completely research and become familiar with the exercise/assignment aspect of option trading. If you don't you can find your entire account blown out over a weekend.
      Assignments occur in two basic varieties. First, on expiration Friday (or Thursday or Wednsday depending on the instrument your trading, but most commonly on Friday). If you have a position that is .01 in the money, or more, you WILL be assigned. For instance, if you have a 100 Call on stock XYZ that expires today, and XYZ closes (AFTER HOURS) at 100.01, you will find that you own, sometime Saturday, 100 shares of XYZ that you paid $100/share for.
      Click here to view the article
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