Covered Calls Trading Strategy – (QQQ & SPY, Income – Backtests Analysis)

Covered calls trading strategy looks tempting when interest rates and dividend yields are down because many investors and traders look for additional ways to generate “income”. Many pundits promise both good returns and “income” if you issue call options on your positions – so-called covered calls. Can you make money on covered calls? Are covered calls worth it? We look at covered calls backtest and empirical evidence. Are covered calls a good strategy?

A covered call is a poor investment strategy, but it also depends on your aims. Writing a covered call means you limit the upside drastically and only partially limit the downside. A covered call is a negatively skewed trading strategy.

This article will analyze the purpose of using Covered Calls Trading Strategy, and we use examples for both S&P 500 (SPY) and NASDAQ 100 (QQQ). We will see under what market conditions it is favorable, for which type of market participant this strategy is suitable, and its performance. Main takeaways:

  • Covered Calls Trading Strategy are not suitable for a Buy & Hold portfolio (and most likely underperforming in the long run).
  • Covered Calls are a strategy for generating income.
  • Covered Calls Trading Strategy premiums are taxable income.
  • They benefit from a stable or slightly bullish market.
  • This instrument is not suitable for every investor profile.
  • They have potential when combined with other option strategies, but you need to know what you are doing.
  • Covered calls are often part of a wheel trading strategy

However, in general, we believe this is an inferior trading strategy. First, let’s explain what a covered call is:

What is a covered call Trading Strategy?

You might be a beginner, and hence we start by explaining that a covered call is when you own the underlying instrument, most likely a stock, and then you issue calls on the same amount of stocks you own (or parts of your ownership).

What is the definition of an option?

An option