EPU Straddle Strategy
EPU (iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management - Global industry), listed on AMEX.
The iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF seeks to track the investment results of an equity index with exposure to Peru, as defined by the index provider.
EPU (iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management - Global, with a market capitalization of approximately $259.6M, a beta of 1.12 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 47.67-95.28, average daily share volume of 87K, a public-listing history dating back to 2009. These structural characteristics shape how EPU etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.12 places EPU roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. EPU pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a straddle on EPU?
A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration.
Current EPU snapshot
As of June 29, 2026, spot at $82.19, ATM IV 34.10%, IV rank 13.68%, expected move 9.78%. The straddle on EPU 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 18-day expiry.
Why this straddle structure on EPU specifically: EPU IV at 34.10% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a EPU straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 9.78% (roughly $8.04 on the underlying). The 18-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated EPU expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on EPU should anchor to the underlying notional of $82.19 per share and to the trader's directional view on EPU etf.
EPU straddle setup
The EPU straddle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With EPU near $82.19, the first option leg uses a $82.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed EPU chain at a 18-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 EPU shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $82.00 | $2.50 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $82.00 | $2.18 |
EPU straddle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$467.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$445.70
- Breakeven(s)
- $77.33, $86.68
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- Unbounded
Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit.
EPU straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on EPU. 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% | +$7,731.50 |
| $18.18 | -77.9% | +$5,914.34 |
| $36.35 | -55.8% | +$4,097.19 |
| $54.52 | -33.7% | +$2,280.03 |
| $72.70 | -11.6% | +$462.88 |
| $90.87 | +10.6% | +$419.28 |
| $109.04 | +32.7% | +$2,236.43 |
| $127.21 | +54.8% | +$4,053.59 |
| $145.38 | +76.9% | +$5,870.75 |
| $163.55 | +99.0% | +$7,687.90 |
When traders use straddle on EPU
Straddles on EPU are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy EPU straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
EPU thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for EPU extends from approximately $74.15 on the downside to $90.23 on the upside. A EPU long straddle is a pure-volatility play: it profits when the underlying moves far enough from the strike in either direction to overcome the combined call plus put debit, regardless of direction. Current EPU IV rank near 13.68% 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 EPU at 34.10%. As a Financial Services name, EPU options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to EPU-specific events.
EPU straddle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium); 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. EPU positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move EPU alongside the broader basket even when EPU-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current EPU chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on EPU?
- A straddle on EPU is the straddle strategy applied to EPU (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium): A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration. With EPU etf trading near $82.19, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed EPU chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are EPU straddle max profit and max loss calculated?
- Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit. For the EPU straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 34.10%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$445.70 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a EPU straddle?
- The breakeven for the EPU straddle priced on this page is roughly $77.33 and $86.68 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 EPU market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 9.78%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on EPU?
- Straddles on EPU are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy EPU straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
- How does current EPU implied volatility affect this straddle?
- EPU ATM IV is at 34.10% with IV rank near 13.68%, 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.