FTC Butterfly Strategy
FTC (First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on NASDAQ.
The First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund, identified by its symbol FTC, functions as a publicly traded investment vehicle. Its primary aim is to mirror the overall performance—both capital appreciation and income generation—of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index, prior to the deduction of any management fees or operational expenses.
FTC (First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.35B, a beta of 1.23 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 147.94-194.18, average daily share volume of 16K, a public-listing history dating back to 2007. These structural characteristics shape how FTC etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.23 places FTC roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. FTC pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on FTC?
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 FTC snapshot
As of June 30, 2026, spot at $193.75, ATM IV 367.80%, IV rank 100.00%, expected move 105.45%. The butterfly on FTC 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 butterfly structure on FTC specifically: FTC IV at 367.80% is rich versus its 1-year range, which makes a premium-buying FTC butterfly relatively expensive in absolute-cost terms, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 105.45% (roughly $204.30 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 FTC expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on FTC should anchor to the underlying notional of $193.75 per share and to the trader's directional view on FTC etf.
FTC butterfly setup
The FTC 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 FTC near $193.75, the first option leg uses a $185.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed FTC 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 FTC shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $185.00 | $10.20 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $195.00 | $3.85 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $205.00 | $0.86 |
FTC butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$336.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $636.86
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$336.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $188.36, $201.64
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.895
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.
FTC butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on FTC. 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% | -$336.00 |
| $42.85 | -77.9% | -$336.00 |
| $85.69 | -55.8% | -$336.00 |
| $128.52 | -33.7% | -$336.00 |
| $171.36 | -11.6% | -$336.00 |
| $214.20 | +10.6% | -$336.00 |
| $257.04 | +32.7% | -$336.00 |
| $299.88 | +54.8% | -$336.00 |
| $342.71 | +76.9% | -$336.00 |
| $385.55 | +99.0% | -$336.00 |
When traders use butterfly on FTC
Butterflies on FTC are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect FTC 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.
FTC thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for FTC extends from approximately $-10.55 on the downside to $398.05 on the upside. A FTC long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if FTC settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current FTC IV rank near 100.00% 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 FTC at 367.80%. As a Financial Services name, FTC options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to FTC-specific events.
FTC 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. FTC positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move FTC alongside the broader basket even when FTC-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current FTC chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on FTC?
- A butterfly on FTC is the butterfly strategy applied to FTC (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 FTC etf trading near $193.75, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed FTC chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are FTC 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 FTC butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 367.80%), the computed maximum profit is $636.86 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$336.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a FTC butterfly?
- The breakeven for the FTC butterfly priced on this page is roughly $188.36 and $201.64 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 FTC market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 105.45%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on FTC?
- Butterflies on FTC are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect FTC 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 FTC implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- FTC ATM IV is at 367.80% with IV rank near 100.00%, 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.