FXZ Bull Call Spread Strategy
FXZ (First Trust Materials AlphaDEX Fund), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The First Trust Materials AlphaDEX Fund is an exchange-traded fund. The investment objective of the Fund is to seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield, before fees and expenses, of an equity index called the StrataQuant Materials Index.
FXZ (First Trust Materials AlphaDEX Fund) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $230.1M, a beta of 1.01 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 53.16-82.58, average daily share volume of 55K, a public-listing history dating back to 2007. These structural characteristics shape how FXZ etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.01 places FXZ roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. FXZ pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a bull call spread on FXZ?
A bull call spread buys an at-the-money call and sells an out-of-the-money call at a higher strike for defined risk and defined reward bounded by the strike width.
Current FXZ snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $78.64, ATM IV 25.00%, IV rank 3.79%, expected move 7.17%. The bull call spread on FXZ 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 63-day expiry.
Why this bull call spread structure on FXZ specifically: FXZ IV at 25.00% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a FXZ bull call spread, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 7.17% (roughly $5.64 on the underlying). The 63-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated FXZ expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on FXZ should anchor to the underlying notional of $78.64 per share and to the trader's directional view on FXZ etf.
FXZ bull call spread setup
The FXZ bull call spread below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With FXZ near $78.64, the first option leg uses a $80.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed FXZ chain at a 63-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 FXZ shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $80.00 | $3.00 |
| Sell 1 | Call | $85.00 | $1.20 |
FXZ bull call spread risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$180.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $320.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$180.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $81.80
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.778
Max profit equals strike width minus net debit times 100; max loss equals net debit times 100. Breakeven is long-call strike plus net debit.
FXZ bull call spread payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the bull call spread on FXZ. 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% | -$180.00 |
| $17.40 | -77.9% | -$180.00 |
| $34.78 | -55.8% | -$180.00 |
| $52.17 | -33.7% | -$180.00 |
| $69.56 | -11.6% | -$180.00 |
| $86.94 | +10.6% | +$320.00 |
| $104.33 | +32.7% | +$320.00 |
| $121.72 | +54.8% | +$320.00 |
| $139.10 | +76.9% | +$320.00 |
| $156.49 | +99.0% | +$320.00 |
When traders use bull call spread on FXZ
Bull call spreads on FXZ reduce the cost of a bullish FXZ etf position by selling a higher-strike call; suited to moderate-move theses where price reaches but does not vastly exceed the short strike.
FXZ thesis for this bull call spread
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for FXZ extends from approximately $73.00 on the downside to $84.28 on the upside. A FXZ bull call spread caps both the risk and the reward of a bullish position; relative to an outright long call on FXZ, the spread reduces the cost basis but limits the maximum profit to the strike width minus net debit. Current FXZ IV rank near 3.79% 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 FXZ at 25.00%. As a Financial Services name, FXZ options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to FXZ-specific events.
FXZ bull call spread positions are structurally moderately 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. FXZ positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move FXZ alongside the broader basket even when FXZ-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Long-premium structures like a bull call spread on FXZ are particularly exposed to IV-crush risk through scheduled events (earnings, FDA decisions, central-bank meetings) where IV typically contracts post-event regardless of the directional outcome. Always rebuild the position from current FXZ chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a bull call spread on FXZ?
- A bull call spread on FXZ is the bull call spread strategy applied to FXZ (etf). The strategy is structurally moderately bullish: A bull call spread buys an at-the-money call and sells an out-of-the-money call at a higher strike for defined risk and defined reward bounded by the strike width. With FXZ etf trading near $78.64, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed FXZ chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are FXZ bull call spread max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals strike width minus net debit times 100; max loss equals net debit times 100. Breakeven is long-call strike plus net debit. For the FXZ bull call spread priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 25.00%), the computed maximum profit is $320.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$180.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a FXZ bull call spread?
- The breakeven for the FXZ bull call spread priced on this page is roughly $81.80 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 FXZ market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 7.17%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a bull call spread on FXZ?
- Bull call spreads on FXZ reduce the cost of a bullish FXZ etf position by selling a higher-strike call; suited to moderate-move theses where price reaches but does not vastly exceed the short strike.
- How does current FXZ implied volatility affect this bull call spread?
- FXZ ATM IV is at 25.00% with IV rank near 3.79%, 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.