Trading Cash Secured Puts or Covered Writes, basically the same trade, is outrageously expensive in a retirement account. With FB at 165 today, Buying 100 shares at 165 and selling one 170 call at $4.50, expiring in 32 days, cost’s about $16,000 to trade!!! If doing an almost identical strategy called a cash secured Put, selling one 160 P at $4.50, the capital requirement is still going to be near $16,000. How do I do this type of a strategy in a very cost efficient way? Sell a wide put Credit Spread. Using FB as an example today. With FB at $165, I can sell the 160 Put at $4.50. Because the capital requirement is very high to sell the put naked, even if I have the capital too do it, I will look to buy a put against it at 15% the cost of my short put. My short put is going for 4.50, 15% of 4.50 is about $65, so look to hedge the short 160 put with the 140 Put . The May 18 expiration 140 Put is currently trading for .65. Now I have a 20 wide put credit spread, short the 160 Put and long […]