IEMG Collar Strategy
IEMG (iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of large-, mid- and small-capitalization emerging market equities.
IEMG (iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $150.90B, a beta of 0.99 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 56.38-83.29, average daily share volume of 15.8M, a public-listing history dating back to 2012. These structural characteristics shape how IEMG etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.99 places IEMG roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. IEMG pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a collar on IEMG?
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 IEMG snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $79.56, ATM IV 28.80%, IV rank 61.52%, expected move 8.26%. The collar on IEMG 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 IEMG specifically: IV regime affects collar pricing on both sides; mid-range IEMG IV at 28.80% typically pushes the short call premium to roughly offset the long put cost, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 8.26% (roughly $6.57 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 IEMG expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on IEMG should anchor to the underlying notional of $79.56 per share and to the trader's directional view on IEMG etf.
IEMG collar setup
The IEMG 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 IEMG near $79.56, the first option leg uses a $85.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed IEMG 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 IEMG shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $79.56 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $85.00 | $0.78 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $76.00 | $1.50 |
IEMG collar risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$8,028.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $471.50
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$428.50
- Breakeven(s)
- $80.29
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.100
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.
IEMG collar payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the collar on IEMG. 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% | -$428.50 |
| $17.60 | -77.9% | -$428.50 |
| $35.19 | -55.8% | -$428.50 |
| $52.78 | -33.7% | -$428.50 |
| $70.37 | -11.6% | -$428.50 |
| $87.96 | +10.6% | +$471.50 |
| $105.55 | +32.7% | +$471.50 |
| $123.14 | +54.8% | +$471.50 |
| $140.73 | +76.9% | +$471.50 |
| $158.32 | +99.0% | +$471.50 |
When traders use collar on IEMG
Collars on IEMG hedge an existing long IEMG 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.
IEMG thesis for this collar
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for IEMG extends from approximately $72.99 on the downside to $86.13 on the upside. A IEMG collar hedges an existing long IEMG 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 IEMG IV rank near 61.52% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the collar thesis on IEMG should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Financial Services name, IEMG options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to IEMG-specific events.
IEMG 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. IEMG positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move IEMG alongside the broader basket even when IEMG-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current IEMG chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a collar on IEMG?
- A collar on IEMG is the collar strategy applied to IEMG (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 IEMG etf trading near $79.56, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed IEMG chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are IEMG 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 IEMG collar priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 28.80%), the computed maximum profit is $471.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$428.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a IEMG collar?
- The breakeven for the IEMG collar priced on this page is roughly $80.29 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 IEMG market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 8.26%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a collar on IEMG?
- Collars on IEMG hedge an existing long IEMG 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 IEMG implied volatility affect this collar?
- IEMG ATM IV is at 28.80% with IV rank near 61.52%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.