FTC Cash-Secured Put 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 $1.51B, a beta of 1.15 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 147.94-194.18, average daily share volume of 17K, 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 1.15 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 cash-secured put on FTC?

A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike.

FTC snapshot

As of August 14, 2026, spot at $187.04, ATM IV 19.30%, IV rank 1.81%, expected move 5.53%. The cash-secured put on FTC below is built from the August 14, 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 cash-secured put structure on FTC specifically: FTC IV at 19.30% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling FTC cash-secured put collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 5.53% (roughly $10.35 on the underlying). The 35-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 $187.04 per share and to the trader's directional view on FTC etf.

FTC cash-secured put setup

The FTC cash-secured put below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With FTC at $187.04 on that close, the first option leg uses a $178.00 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 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 FTC shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

ActionTypeStrike / BasisPremium (est)
Sell 1Put$178.00$1.30

FTC cash-secured put risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit
+$130.00
Max Profit (per contract)
$130.00
Max Loss (per contract)
-$17,669.00
Breakeven(s)
$176.70
Risk / Reward Ratio
0.007

Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.

FTC cash-secured put payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put 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.

FTC cash-secured put profit and loss curve at expiration with breakevens and current spot markedFTC cash-secured put payoff at expiration-$15000-$10000-$5000$0$50$100$150$200$250$300$350Underlying Price ($)P&L at Expiration ($)BE $176.70Spot $187.04
P&L at expiration across the modeled underlying-price range. Green shading marks profitable regions, red shading marks loss regions. Dotted purple verticals mark breakevens; the solid dark vertical marks current spot.
Underlying Price% From SpotP&L at Expiration
$0.01-100.0%-$17,669.00
$41.36-77.9%-$13,533.55
$82.72-55.8%-$9,398.11
$124.07-33.7%-$5,262.66
$165.43-11.6%-$1,127.21
$206.78+10.6%+$130.00
$248.14+32.7%+$130.00
$289.49+54.8%+$130.00
$330.85+76.9%+$130.00
$372.20+99.0%+$130.00

When traders use cash-secured put on FTC

Cash-secured puts on FTC earn premium while a trader waits to acquire FTC etf at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning FTC.

FTC thesis for this cash-secured put

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for FTC extends from approximately $176.69 on the downside to $197.39 on the upside. A FTC cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire FTC at the strike price; the strategy is most attractive when the trader is comfortable holding the underlying at that level and IV is rich enough to compensate for the assignment risk. Current FTC IV rank near 1.81% 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 FTC at 19.30%. 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 cash-secured put positions are structurally neutral to slightly bullish; 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. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on FTC carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical FTC earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current FTC chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a cash-secured put on FTC?
A cash-secured put on FTC is the cash-secured put strategy applied to FTC (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral to slightly bullish: A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike. With FTC etf at $187.04 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed FTC chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
How are FTC cash-secured put max profit and max loss calculated?
Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium. For the FTC cash-secured put priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 19.30%), the computed maximum profit is $130.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$17,669.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a FTC cash-secured put?
The breakeven for the FTC cash-secured put priced on this page is roughly $176.70 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 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. The FTC market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 5.53%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a cash-secured put on FTC?
Cash-secured puts on FTC earn premium while a trader waits to acquire FTC etf at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning FTC.
How does current FTC implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
FTC ATM IV is at 19.30% with IV rank near 1.81%, 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.

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