ACES Cash-Secured Put Strategy
ACES (ALPS Clean Energy ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The ALPS Clean Energy ETF, identified by the ticker ACES, aims to replicate the investment performance of its benchmark index, the CIBC Atlas Clean Energy Index (NACEX), before any fees and expenses are factored in.
ACES (ALPS Clean Energy ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $123.5M, a beta of 1.44 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 27.09-43, average daily share volume of 91K, a public-listing history dating back to 2018. These structural characteristics shape how ACES etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.44 indicates ACES has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. ACES pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a cash-secured put on ACES?
A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike.
ACES snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $32.61, ATM IV 399.90%, IV rank 79.46%, expected move 8.05%. The cash-secured put on ACES below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 7-day expiry.
Why this cash-secured put structure on ACES specifically: ACES IV at 399.90% is rich versus its 1-year range, which favors premium-selling structures like a ACES cash-secured put, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 8.05% (roughly $2.62 on the underlying). The 7-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated ACES expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on ACES should anchor to the underlying notional of $32.61 per share and to the trader's directional view on ACES etf.
ACES cash-secured put setup
The ACES cash-secured put below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With ACES at $32.61 on that close, the first option leg uses a $31.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed ACES chain at a 7-day expiry; the cross-strike IV skew is reflected directly in the per-leg values rather than approximated. Quantity sizing assumes one contract per option leg (or 100 ACES shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Put | $31.00 | $0.14 |
ACES cash-secured put risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$14.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $14.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$3,085.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $30.90
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.005
Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.
ACES cash-secured put payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put on ACES. Each row is one sampled price point from the computed payoff curve; the full curve uses 200 price points internally before being summarized into 10 rows here.
| Underlying Price | % From Spot | P&L at Expiration |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01 | -100.0% | -$3,085.00 |
| $7.22 | -77.9% | -$2,364.09 |
| $14.43 | -55.8% | -$1,643.17 |
| $21.64 | -33.6% | -$922.26 |
| $28.85 | -11.5% | -$201.34 |
| $36.06 | +10.6% | +$14.00 |
| $43.26 | +32.7% | +$14.00 |
| $50.47 | +54.8% | +$14.00 |
| $57.68 | +76.9% | +$14.00 |
| $64.89 | +99.0% | +$14.00 |
When traders use cash-secured put on ACES
Cash-secured puts on ACES earn premium while a trader waits to acquire ACES etf at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning ACES.
ACES thesis for this cash-secured put
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ACES extends from approximately $29.99 on the downside to $35.23 on the upside. A ACES cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire ACES at the strike price; the strategy is most attractive when the trader is comfortable holding the underlying at that level and IV is rich enough to compensate for the assignment risk. Current ACES IV rank near 79.46% sits in the upper third of its 1-year distribution, which historically reverts; this raises the bar for premium-buying structures and lowers it for premium-selling structures on ACES at 399.90%. As a Financial Services name, ACES options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to ACES-specific events.
ACES cash-secured put positions are structurally neutral to slightly bullish; the modeled P&L assumes European-style exercise at expiration and ignores early assignment, transaction costs, dividends paid before expiry on the stock leg (when present), and the bid-ask spread on the listed chain. ACES positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move ACES alongside the broader basket even when ACES-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on ACES carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical ACES earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current ACES chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a cash-secured put on ACES?
- A cash-secured put on ACES is the cash-secured put strategy applied to ACES (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral to slightly bullish: A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike. With ACES etf at $32.61 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed ACES chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are ACES cash-secured put max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium. For the ACES cash-secured put priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 399.90%), the computed maximum profit is $14.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$3,085.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a ACES cash-secured put?
- The breakeven for the ACES cash-secured put priced on this page is roughly $30.90 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain's premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The ACES market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 8.05%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a cash-secured put on ACES?
- Cash-secured puts on ACES earn premium while a trader waits to acquire ACES etf at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning ACES.
- How does current ACES implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
- ACES ATM IV is at 399.90% with IV rank near 79.46%, which is elevated relative to its 1-year range. Premium-selling structures (covered call, cash-secured put, iron condor) generally look more attractive when IV rank is high; premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are more expensive in that regime.