Writing Covered Calls

ttp · Feb 7, 2009

I am just now getting back into the 'writing covered calls' business.

Some years ago I saw a neat tool on the web/net that analyzed stocks and corresponding calls and thus gave you some guidance to selecting a stock and it's underlying 'best bet' option. But for the life of me I cannot seem to find it.

Does anyone have any suggestions on sites, tools that give you some help on selecting the right stocks, and the options that produce a nice return..

ttp

dagnyt · Feb 8, 2009

Quote from ttp:

I am just now getting back into the 'writing covered calls' business.

Some years ago I saw a neat tool on the web/net that analyzed stocks and corresponding calls and thus gave you some guidance to selecting a stock and it's underlying 'best bet' option. But for the life of me I cannot seem to find it.

Does anyone have any suggestions on sites, tools that give you some help on selecting the right stocks, and the options that produce a nice return..

ttp

You don't ant to do this.

1) Options with 'nice' returns are options on volatile stocks. And that means more risk for you.

2) The world is filled with people who think they know which stocks are going higher and which are going lower. On average, they are wrong.

Professional money managers - mutual fund managers - are unable to beat the market averages. Some guy on a web site is not likely to do any better.

3) Pick your own stocks. Stocks you want to own. If you don't want to own the stock, then you DO NOT want to write covered calls on that stock.

4) It's great to collect 'nice' premiums, but the most important factor in your long-term success as a writer of covered calls is going to be stock selection.

Mark
http://blog.mdwoptions.com/options_for_rookies/

Free Thinker · Feb 8, 2009

Quote from ttp:

I am just now getting back into the 'writing covered calls' business.

Some years ago I saw a neat tool on the web/net that analyzed stocks and corresponding calls and thus gave you some guidance to selecting a stock and it's underlying 'best bet' option. But for the life of me I cannot seem to find it.

Does anyone have any suggestions on sites, tools that give you some help on selecting the right stocks, and the options that produce a nice return..

ttp

with all of the choices of etf and indexes with many more strike selections there is little reason to add risk to the stradgey by using individual stocks.

spindr0 · Feb 8, 2009

Does anyone have any suggestions on sites, tools that give you some help on selecting the right stocks, and the options that produce a nice return..

While some of those exist, for every one of them there's probably a coupla hundred dead fish in the same barrel.

IOW, the internet is full of people with an agenda, trying to sell you advice, usually bad.

ttp · Feb 24, 2009

The selection of stocks verus index's was the the issue. I am looking for "TOOLS" that do a lot of the mundane work. Then I can make a selection. :mad:

CloroxCowboy · Feb 26, 2009

One of the better (free) tools I've stumbled across is Options Oracle. Once you've found a stock you're comfortable with, start modeling the different strikes and expirations until you get a R:R that you are also comfortable with. To get that initial list of stocks, you could use a free stock screener and input your desired parameters. I'm not aware of any great all-in-ones that will do both for you, but if you have some programming skills you could always try to build your own.

ttp · Feb 26, 2009

Thanks, That is close to what I am looking for and after some more practice and reading it may be exactly what I need.

I tried creating an Excel spreadsheets but that is limited. Too much paging back and forth!

atticus · Feb 26, 2009

Quote from ttp:

Does anyone have any suggestions on sites, tools that give you some help on selecting the right stocks, and the options that produce a nice return..

ttp

You're searching for volatility. The "right" stocks cannot be known until after expiration. There is a high-implied volatility and IV/SV ratio search to be found on this website:

http://www.interactivebrokers.com/optionsCommentary/elitetrader/

Options are volatility. Find high-vol stocks you're comfortable owning [if assigned] and sell atm puts.

CloroxCowboy · Feb 26, 2009

Quote from ttp:

Thanks, That is close to what I am looking for and after some more practice and reading it may be exactly what I need.

I tried creating an Excel spreadsheets but that is limited. Too much paging back and forth!

Excel can be ok if some coding is included, but I agree it reaches limits with this kind of project. I'm currently transferring an older Excel application I created for pairs trading with stocks over to a database with VB front-end. It was somewhat similar to what you're trying to do, screened stocks for correlations, calculated the pair's divergence and standard deviations, etc...Excel had trouble keeping up when the number of pairs became larger than about 20,000.

But as you mentioned, a basic screener for stocks and an options modeler can be a good combo IF you have the knowledge to back them up. No program or model will work magic, the "magic" comes from how you interpret the results and how you manage your trades.

Nanook · Feb 26, 2009

Quote from ttp:

I am just now getting back into the 'writing covered calls' business.

Some years ago I saw a neat tool on the web/net that analyzed stocks and corresponding calls and thus gave you some guidance to selecting a stock and it's underlying 'best bet' option. But for the life of me I cannot seem to find it.

Does anyone have any suggestions on sites, tools that give you some help on selecting the right stocks, and the options that produce a nice return..

ttp

OptionVue OpScan allows you customize a search on 70 underlying parameters and/or option specific parameters:
http://www.optionvue.com/overvue_opscan.aspx

Value Line Options Survey has a Top 200 Strategy Picks for Covered Calls, Call/Put Buying/Selling, etc.:
https://www.ec-server.valueline.com/products/elect6.html