AFK Butterfly Strategy
AFK (VanEck Africa Index ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
VanEck Africa Index ETF (AFK) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MVIS GDP Africa Index (MVAFKTR), which includes local listings of companies that are incorporated in Africa and listings of companies incorporated outside of Africa but that have at least 50% of their revenues/related assets in Africa.
AFK (VanEck Africa Index ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $120.2M, a beta of 1.12 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 18.02-30.85, average daily share volume of 83K, a public-listing history dating back to 2008. These structural characteristics shape how AFK etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.12 places AFK roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. AFK pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on AFK?
A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration.
Current AFK snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $26.82, ATM IV 44.40%, IV rank 7.03%, expected move 12.73%. The butterfly on AFK below is built from the same end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 63-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on AFK specifically: AFK IV at 44.40% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a AFK butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 12.73% (roughly $3.41 on the underlying). The 63-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated AFK expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on AFK should anchor to the underlying notional of $26.82 per share and to the trader's directional view on AFK etf.
AFK butterfly setup
The AFK butterfly below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With AFK near $26.82, the first option leg uses a $25.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed AFK chain at a 63-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 AFK shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $25.00 | $2.80 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $27.00 | $1.55 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $28.00 | $1.11 |
AFK butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$81.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $114.97
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$81.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $25.81
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.419
Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit.
AFK butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on AFK. 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% | -$81.00 |
| $5.94 | -77.9% | -$81.00 |
| $11.87 | -55.7% | -$81.00 |
| $17.80 | -33.6% | -$81.00 |
| $23.73 | -11.5% | -$81.00 |
| $29.65 | +10.6% | +$19.00 |
| $35.58 | +32.7% | +$19.00 |
| $41.51 | +54.8% | +$19.00 |
| $47.44 | +76.9% | +$19.00 |
| $53.37 | +99.0% | +$19.00 |
When traders use butterfly on AFK
Butterflies on AFK are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect AFK to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
AFK thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for AFK extends from approximately $23.41 on the downside to $30.23 on the upside. A AFK long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if AFK settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current AFK IV rank near 7.03% sits in the lower third of its 1-year distribution, where IV often re-expands toward the mean; this favors premium-buying structures and disadvantages premium-selling structures on AFK at 44.40%. As a Financial Services name, AFK options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to AFK-specific events.
AFK butterfly positions are structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward); 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. AFK positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move AFK alongside the broader basket even when AFK-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current AFK chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on AFK?
- A butterfly on AFK is the butterfly strategy applied to AFK (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward): A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration. With AFK etf trading near $26.82, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed AFK chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are AFK butterfly max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit. For the AFK butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 44.40%), the computed maximum profit is $114.97 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$81.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a AFK butterfly?
- The breakeven for the AFK butterfly priced on this page is roughly $25.81 at expiration, derived from end-of-day chain premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The current AFK market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 12.73%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on AFK?
- Butterflies on AFK are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect AFK to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
- How does current AFK implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- AFK ATM IV is at 44.40% with IV rank near 7.03%, which is on the low end of its 1-year range. Premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are relatively cheap in this regime; premium-selling structures collect less credit per unit risk.