Seagull Option Strategy
What are the characteristics of this option strategy?
The Seagull Option Strategy is an advanced, high risk, high reward option trading strategy designed to take advantage of time decay and implied volatility. The strategy involves simultaneously initiating a long call, short put and short call spread outside of the money, in order to produce a net credit. The strategy has positive theta (time decay) and negative vega (volatility).
Is this a bullish, bearish or neutral strategy?
The Seagull Option Strategy is a neutral strategy as it requires neither a bearish nor a bullish position in the market or underlying security.
Is this a beginner or an advanced option strategy?
The Seagull Option Strategy is an advanced strategy due to its complexity, the magnitude of the capital requirement and the level of risk involved.
In what situation will I use this strategy?
This strategy should be considered when the options market is priced with high implied volatility, or when an investor is expecting a positive time decay (theta) from the position.
Where does this strategy typically fall in the range of risk-reward and probability of profit?
This strategy typically has a high potential reward and higher probability of profit when meaningfully sized positions have been set up, but carries the risk of high capital requirement and time decay (theta).
How is this strategy affected by the greeks?
The Seagull Option Strategy has a positive theta, meaning it profits from time decay and is affected severely when underlying security price changes drastically changing the delta of a trade.
In what volatility regime (i.e VIX level) would this strategy be optimal?
The Seagull Option Strategy is most suitable when the underlying asset has high implied volatility. This strategy should be considered when the volatility of the underlying asset is above the 10th percentile or greater.
How do I adjust this strategy when the trade goes against me? And how easy or difficult is this strategy to adjust?
Adjusting the Seagull Option Strategy involves reducing the maximum loss as the price moves from its entry level. As the underlying asset moves beyond the short strikes, turning the trade into a double diagonal spread, the investor should consider buying back one of the sold options for a modest premium and closing off the undesirable side of the trade. This adjustment process is easy and does does not require a large capital commitment.
Where does this strategy typically fall in the range of commissions and fees?
Since the Seagull Option Strategy involves simultaneously exchanging a greater number of contracts, the cost of commission and fees can be higher than that of a regular option strategy. Generally, a commisson fee of around $2 per contract or up to 10% of the net credit is worth spending if you can make an 80% profit on your trade.
Is this a good option income strategy?
The Seagull Option Strategy is a very good strategy for generating income on a regular basis. due to its high theta and volatility profit potential.
How do I know when to exit this strategy?
When trading options it is necessary to decide when to exit this strategy before the expiration date. Generally, at least 20 days before the expiration date the investor should exit the trade when the maximum loss is left with 20% of the trade capital.
How will market makers respond to this trade being opened?
Since market makers are gambling on the option prices in order to remain solvent, they use sophisticated computer models that automatically detect options strategies, such as the Seagull Option Strategy. When they spot this strategy, they will hedge positions in order to reduce their risk.
What is an example (with calculations) of this strategy?
Assuming MSFT is trading at $285, an investor can create a Seagull Option Strategy by simultaneously initiating a long call option, a short put option, and a short call spread outside of the money, in order to produce a net credit.
To execute this strategy, the investor would do the following:
Buy one out-of-the-money call option with a strike price of $290 and an expiration date of one month from now, paying a premium of $5 per share.
Sell one out-of-the-money put option with a strike price of $275 and an expiration date of one month from now, receiving a premium of $7 per share.
Simultaneously, sell one out-of-the-money call option with a strike price of $300 and an expiration date of one month from now, receiving a premium of $3 per share.
The resulting payoff diagram of this strategy will look like a seagull with wings, hence the name Seagull Option Strategy.
Here’s how the strategy works:
If MSFT’s price rises above the strike price of $300 by the expiration date, the investor will experience losses on the short call spread, but the gains from the long call will offset some of the losses, and the premium received from selling the put option will also provide some downside protection.
If MSFT’s price remains between the strike prices of $290 and $300 by the expiration date, the investor will keep the premium received from selling the put option, and both the long call and short call spread will expire worthless, resulting in a net credit.
If MSFT’s price falls below the strike price of $275 by the expiration date, the investor will be assigned on the short put option and forced to buy MSFT at $275, but the premium received from selling the put option will provide some downside protection, and the losses can be offset by the gains from the long call and short call spread.
MarketXLS
MarketXLS is a great tool that can help you with option trades, such as the Seagull Option Strategy. The MarketXLS platform includes extensive data set linked to financial models using Excel and it enables investors to create strategies and analyze hypothetical trades in order to identify trading opportunities. MarketXLS also provides access to US stocks options chains, futures, world index options, custom option chains and more.
Here are some templates that you can use to create your own models
Search for all Templates here: https://marketxls.com/templates/