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Simple & Low Risk Investing Strategy - Wheel Options Strategy Summary

Dec 6, 2025

Summary

  • Video teaches a low-risk options strategy suitable for beginner investors and traders.
  • Presenter: Seth Freudberg, head of options trading at S&B Capital (Manhattan).
  • Strategy demonstrated: cash-secured puts and covered calls combined into a "wheel" campaign.
  • Example used: Chevron (CVX) over a 12-month campaign in 2023–2024.
  • Outcome: option strategy produced higher returns and more cash flow than simply owning shares.

Action Items

  • (none – no dated/owned items provided)

Wheel Strategy Overview

  • Sell cash-secured puts at ~20 Delta repeatedly until assigned shares.
  • If assigned, sell covered calls at the strike you were assigned.
  • Repeat cycle: after shares are called away, sell puts again and restart the wheel.
  • Rationale: 20 Delta puts have ~80% chance to expire worthless, generating regular income.

Example Campaign: CVX (Chevron)

  • Initial stock price: $158.69 on July expiration day.
  • Step 1: Sell August 20 Delta put (150 strike, Delta ≈ 19.94%) for $1.30 premium.
    • Requires $15,000 cash secured per contract (covering $15,000 strike*100).
    • Collected $130 premium (100 multiplier).
  • Monthly process: sell closest-to-20-Delta put each month; keep premium if put expires worthless.
  • November: sold 155 put, stock closed at ~$144.46, assigned shares at $155.
  • Once assigned: sell covered calls at the same strike (155) to generate income.
  • March: sold 155 call for $3.45; stock closed slightly above 155 and shares were called away.
  • Returned to selling puts (April sold 150 put at $1.37) and continued the cycle.
  • Total option premium collected over 12 months: $1,659.

Cash Flow, Capital, And Risks

  • Each options contract controls 100 shares; premiums must be multiplied by 100 for cash received.
  • Cash-secured requirement example: to sell a 150 put you need ~$15,000 available per contract.
  • Assignment risk: if stock closes below the put strike at expiration, you are obligated to buy shares at the strike.
  • Managing assignments: once assigned, you can hold shares or sell covered calls to offset cost and generate income.
  • Dividend consideration: full-time share owners receive all dividends; wheel strategy owners receive dividends only when assigned and holding shares across an ex-dividend date.
  • Opportunity cost: while not holding shares, funds can be invested elsewhere (e.g., money market >5%), increasing effective return.

Performance Comparison

  • Owning CVX shares for 12 months: ~4.25% return (plus dividends).
  • Wheel/options campaign: >11% return from options premiums plus any dividends when assigned.
  • Effective return is higher because capital is not tied to shares as often and can earn money market returns when not assigned.

Practical Implementation Notes

  • Use broker options chain and the Delta column to find ~20 Delta puts.
  • Multiply option premium by 100 to compute cash received per contract.
  • Maintain sufficient cash to meet assignment obligations.
  • When assigned, consider selling covered calls at the assignment strike to potentially break even and collect further premium.
  • Track a scorecard monthly to monitor premiums collected and assignments.

Decisions

  • Adopt the wheel strategy (cash-secured puts → covered calls) as a repeatable income-generating approach for stocks you are comfortable owning.

Open Questions

  • What broker margin or cash requirements apply specifically to my account?
  • How do taxes on option premium and assigned share sales affect net returns?
  • How should position size be sized relative to total portfolio risk tolerance?