EZA Collar Strategy
EZA (iShares MSCI South Africa ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The iShares MSCI South Africa ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of South African equities.
EZA (iShares MSCI South Africa ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $559.1M, a beta of 1.24 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 50.33-81.76, average daily share volume of 286K, a public-listing history dating back to 2003. These structural characteristics shape how EZA etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.24 places EZA roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. EZA pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a collar on EZA?
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 EZA snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $67.50, ATM IV 46.30%, IV rank 70.23%, expected move 13.27%. The collar on EZA 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 34-day expiry.
Why this collar structure on EZA specifically: IV regime affects collar pricing on both sides; elevated EZA IV at 46.30% typically pushes the short call premium to roughly offset the long put cost, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 13.27% (roughly $8.96 on the underlying). The 34-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated EZA expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on EZA should anchor to the underlying notional of $67.50 per share and to the trader's directional view on EZA etf.
EZA collar setup
The EZA 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 EZA near $67.50, the first option leg uses a $71.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed EZA chain at a 34-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 EZA shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $67.50 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $71.00 | $2.35 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $64.00 | $2.08 |
EZA collar risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$6,722.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $377.50
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$322.50
- Breakeven(s)
- $67.23
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.171
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.
EZA collar payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the collar on EZA. 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% | -$322.50 |
| $14.93 | -77.9% | -$322.50 |
| $29.86 | -55.8% | -$322.50 |
| $44.78 | -33.7% | -$322.50 |
| $59.70 | -11.5% | -$322.50 |
| $74.63 | +10.6% | +$377.50 |
| $89.55 | +32.7% | +$377.50 |
| $104.47 | +54.8% | +$377.50 |
| $119.40 | +76.9% | +$377.50 |
| $134.32 | +99.0% | +$377.50 |
When traders use collar on EZA
Collars on EZA hedge an existing long EZA 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.
EZA thesis for this collar
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for EZA extends from approximately $58.54 on the downside to $76.46 on the upside. A EZA collar hedges an existing long EZA 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 EZA IV rank near 70.23% 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 EZA at 46.30%. As a Financial Services name, EZA options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to EZA-specific events.
EZA 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. EZA positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move EZA alongside the broader basket even when EZA-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current EZA chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a collar on EZA?
- A collar on EZA is the collar strategy applied to EZA (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 EZA etf trading near $67.50, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed EZA chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are EZA 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 EZA collar priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 46.30%), the computed maximum profit is $377.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$322.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a EZA collar?
- The breakeven for the EZA collar priced on this page is roughly $67.23 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 EZA market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 13.27%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a collar on EZA?
- Collars on EZA hedge an existing long EZA 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 EZA implied volatility affect this collar?
- EZA ATM IV is at 46.30% with IV rank near 70.23%, 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.