FCA Butterfly Strategy
FCA (First Trust China AlphaDEX Fund), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management - Global industry), listed on NASDAQ.
FCA offers broad China exposure with a twistit implements its AlphaDex methodology to select a concentrated portfolio of 50 stocks from the S&P China BMI universe based on a number of growth and value factors, subject to weighting constraints set at 15% above the sector percentages of the base index. The fund's tiered equal-weighting structure contributes to its significant mid and small-cap exposure. The fund is also rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually. Overall, FCA is a breath of fresh air for those wanting to shy away from the 'big 4' Chinese state-owned banks that carry such a heavy hand in most China ETFs.
FCA (First Trust China AlphaDEX Fund) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management - Global, with a market capitalization of approximately $45.1M, a beta of 0.73 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 22.5-34.6, average daily share volume of 6K, a public-listing history dating back to 2011. These structural characteristics shape how FCA etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.73 places FCA roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. FCA pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on FCA?
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.
FCA snapshot
As of November 13, 2026, spot at $23.61. The butterfly on FCA below is built from the November 13, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 35-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on FCA specifically: IV rank is unavailable in the current snapshot, so regime-based timing for FCA is inferred from ATM IV alone. The 35-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated FCA expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on FCA should anchor to the underlying notional of $23.61 per share and to the trader's directional view on FCA etf.
FCA butterfly setup
The FCA butterfly below is built from the November 13, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With FCA at $23.61 on that close, the first option leg uses a $22.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed FCA chain at a 35-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 FCA shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $22.00 | $1.60 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $24.00 | $0.45 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $25.00 | $0.22 |
FCA butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$92.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $105.09
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$92.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $22.92
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.142
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.
FCA butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on FCA. 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% | -$92.00 |
| $5.23 | -77.9% | -$92.00 |
| $10.45 | -55.7% | -$92.00 |
| $15.67 | -33.6% | -$92.00 |
| $20.89 | -11.5% | -$92.00 |
| $26.11 | +10.6% | +$8.00 |
| $31.33 | +32.7% | +$8.00 |
| $36.54 | +54.8% | +$8.00 |
| $41.76 | +76.9% | +$8.00 |
| $46.98 | +99.0% | +$8.00 |
When traders use butterfly on FCA
Butterflies on FCA are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect FCA 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.
FCA thesis for this butterfly
A FCA long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if FCA settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. As a Financial Services name, FCA options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to FCA-specific events.
FCA 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. FCA positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move FCA alongside the broader basket even when FCA-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current FCA chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on FCA?
- A butterfly on FCA is the butterfly strategy applied to FCA (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 FCA etf at $23.61 on the November 13, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed FCA chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are FCA 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 FCA butterfly priced from the November 13, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV the current ATM IV), the computed maximum profit is $105.09 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$92.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a FCA butterfly?
- The breakeven for the FCA butterfly priced on this page is roughly $22.92 at expiration, derived from the November 13, 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.
- When should you consider a butterfly on FCA?
- Butterflies on FCA are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect FCA 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 FCA implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- Current FCA ATM IV is the current ATM IV; IV rank context is unavailable in the current snapshot.