AIS Collar Strategy
AIS (VistaShares Artificial Intelligence Supercycle ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
This actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) is designed to achieve its investment objective by strategically allocating capital to a diversified portfolio of artificial intelligence (AI) companies across the globe. The sub-adviser's strategy is to manage the fund's assets in pursuit of returns that mirror those of the BITA VistaShares Artificial Intelligence Supercycle Index. Under typical market conditions, the fund commits a minimum of 80% of its net assets, including any funds borrowed for investment, to AI-focused enterprises.
AIS (VistaShares Artificial Intelligence Supercycle ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $249.0M, a beta of 3.02 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 27.32-88.795, average daily share volume of 554K, a public-listing history dating back to 2024. These structural characteristics shape how AIS etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 3.02 indicates AIS has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position.
What is a collar on AIS?
A collar pairs long stock with a protective out-of-the-money put financed by a short out-of-the-money call, capping both tails of the position around the current spot.
Current AIS snapshot
As of June 30, 2026, spot at $85.35, ATM IV 69.30%, IV rank 19.83%, expected move 19.87%. The collar on AIS 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 17-day expiry.
Why this collar structure on AIS specifically: IV regime affects collar pricing on both sides; compressed AIS IV at 69.30% typically pushes the short call premium to roughly offset the long put cost, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 19.87% (roughly $16.96 on the underlying). The 17-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated AIS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on AIS should anchor to the underlying notional of $85.35 per share and to the trader's directional view on AIS etf.
AIS collar setup
The AIS collar below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With AIS near $85.35, the first option leg uses a $90.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed AIS chain at a 17-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 AIS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $85.35 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $90.00 | $2.73 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $80.00 | $3.15 |
AIS collar risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$8,577.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $422.50
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$577.50
- Breakeven(s)
- $85.78
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.732
Max profit roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium.
AIS collar payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the collar on AIS. 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% | -$577.50 |
| $18.88 | -77.9% | -$577.50 |
| $37.75 | -55.8% | -$577.50 |
| $56.62 | -33.7% | -$577.50 |
| $75.49 | -11.6% | -$577.50 |
| $94.36 | +10.6% | +$422.50 |
| $113.23 | +32.7% | +$422.50 |
| $132.10 | +54.8% | +$422.50 |
| $150.97 | +76.9% | +$422.50 |
| $169.84 | +99.0% | +$422.50 |
When traders use collar on AIS
Collars on AIS hedge an existing long AIS etf position; the long put sets a floor while the short call finances it, often run as a near-zero-cost hedge during expected volatility windows.
AIS thesis for this collar
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for AIS extends from approximately $68.39 on the downside to $102.31 on the upside. A AIS collar hedges an existing long AIS position with a protective put while financing the put cost via a short call; when the premiums roughly offset, the collar acts as a near-zero-cost insurance band around the current spot. Current AIS IV rank near 19.83% 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 AIS at 69.30%. As a Financial Services name, AIS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to AIS-specific events.
AIS collar positions are structurally neutral (protective); 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. AIS positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move AIS alongside the broader basket even when AIS-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current AIS chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a collar on AIS?
- A collar on AIS is the collar strategy applied to AIS (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral (protective): A collar pairs long stock with a protective out-of-the-money put financed by a short out-of-the-money call, capping both tails of the position around the current spot. With AIS etf trading near $85.35, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed AIS chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are AIS collar max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium. For the AIS collar priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 69.30%), the computed maximum profit is $422.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$577.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a AIS collar?
- The breakeven for the AIS collar priced on this page is roughly $85.78 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 AIS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 19.87%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a collar on AIS?
- Collars on AIS hedge an existing long AIS etf position; the long put sets a floor while the short call finances it, often run as a near-zero-cost hedge during expected volatility windows.
- How does current AIS implied volatility affect this collar?
- AIS ATM IV is at 69.30% with IV rank near 19.83%, 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.