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Fundamentals
Realistic Strategies, Realistic Returns

January 27, 2023

Buffett Patient Investor Portfolio – Alert (AAPL)

Apple (AAPL)

We currently own the AAPL January 19, 2024, 130 call LEAPS contract at $54.20. You must own LEAPS in order to use this strategy.

Based on our approach, the LEAPS contract that works best is the one with a delta of 0.79: currently the January 17, 2025, 120 calls. We typically initiate a LEAPS position, with a delta of roughly 0.80, that has roughly 18 to 24 months left until expiration.

Here is the trade:

Buy to close AAPL January 27, 2023, 147 call for roughly $0.23 (adjust accordingly, prices may vary from time of alert)

Once that occurs (or if you are new to the position and already own LEAPS):

Sell to open AAPL March 3, 2023, 152.5 call for roughly $2.75 (adjust accordingly, prices may vary from time of alert)

Premium received: 5.1%

Once the initial LEAPS purchase occurs, we maintain the position and focus on selling near-term call premium against our LEAPS, lowering the original cost basis of $54.20 (or the price at which you purchased your LEAPS) with each and every transaction.

We can continue to sell calls against our LEAPS contract every month or so to lower the total capital outlay. But remember, options have a limited life, so when we get closer to the LEAPS contract’s expiration, we will simply sell the contract and use the proceeds to continue our poor man’s covered call strategy in AAPL.

All-Weather Portfolio – Alert (VTI)

Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI)

We need to bring our deltas back in a normal range as our LEAPS and short call are nearing parity. This will allow us to continue to take advantage of the current rally.

We currently own the VTI January 19, 2024, 145 call LEAPS contract at $54.50. You must own LEAPS in order to use this strategy.

Based on our approach, the LEAPS contract that works best is the one with a delta of 0.80: currently the January 17, 2025, 160 calls. We typically initiate a LEAPS position, with a delta of roughly 0.80, that has about 18 to 24 months left until expiration.

Here is the trade:

Buy to close VTI February 17, 2023, 200 call for roughly $6.50 (adjust accordingly, prices may vary from time of alert)

Once that occurs (or if you are new to the position and already own LEAPS):

Sell to open VTI March 17, 2023, 210 call for roughly $3.00 (adjust accordingly, prices may vary from time of alert)

Premium received: 5.5%

Once the initial LEAPS purchase occurs, we maintain the position and focus on selling near-term call premium against our LEAPS, lowering the original cost basis of $54.50 (or the price at which you purchased your LEAPS) with each and every transaction.

We can continue to sell calls against our LEAPS contract every month or so to lower the total capital outlay. But remember, options have a limited life, so when we get closer to the LEAPS contract’s expiration, we will simply sell the contract and use the proceeds to continue our poor man’s covered call strategy in VTI.

Andy Crowder is a professional options trader, researcher and Senior Analyst at Cabot. Formerly with Oppenheimer & Co. in New York, Andy has leveraged his investment experience to develop his statistically based options trading strategy which applies probability theory to option valuations in order to execute risk-controlled trades. This proprietary strategy has been refined through two decades of research and real-world experience and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Seeking Alpha, and numerous other financial publications. Andy has helped thousands of option traders learn and implement his meticulous rules-driven options trading strategies through highly attended conferences, one-on-one coaching, webinars, and his work as a financial columnist. He currently resides in Bolton Valley, Vermont and when he’s not trading, teaching and writing about options, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, backcountry skiing, biking, running and enjoying all things outdoors.