IJJ Collar Strategy
IJJ (iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF is structured to replicate the returns of an underlying index. This benchmark consists of U.S. equities that fall within the mid-capitalization range and exhibit strong value attributes.
IJJ (iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $8.98B, a beta of 0.97 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 123.89-151.63, average daily share volume of 169K, a public-listing history dating back to 2000. These structural characteristics shape how IJJ etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.97 places IJJ roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. IJJ pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a collar on IJJ?
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.
IJJ snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $151.56, ATM IV 21.00%, IV rank 21.71%, expected move 6.02%. The collar on IJJ 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 collar structure on IJJ specifically: IV regime affects collar pricing on both sides; compressed IJJ IV at 21.00% typically pushes the short call premium to roughly offset the long put cost, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 6.02% (roughly $9.12 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 IJJ expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on IJJ should anchor to the underlying notional of $151.56 per share and to the trader's directional view on IJJ etf.
IJJ collar setup
The IJJ collar 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 IJJ at $151.56 on that close, the first option leg uses a $160.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed IJJ 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 IJJ shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $151.56 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $160.00 | $0.69 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $144.00 | $1.10 |
IJJ collar risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$15,197.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $803.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$797.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $151.97
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.008
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.
IJJ collar payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the collar on IJJ. 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% | -$797.00 |
| $33.52 | -77.9% | -$797.00 |
| $67.03 | -55.8% | -$797.00 |
| $100.54 | -33.7% | -$797.00 |
| $134.05 | -11.6% | -$797.00 |
| $167.56 | +10.6% | +$803.00 |
| $201.07 | +32.7% | +$803.00 |
| $234.58 | +54.8% | +$803.00 |
| $268.09 | +76.9% | +$803.00 |
| $301.60 | +99.0% | +$803.00 |
When traders use collar on IJJ
Collars on IJJ hedge an existing long IJJ 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.
IJJ thesis for this collar
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for IJJ extends from approximately $142.44 on the downside to $160.68 on the upside. A IJJ collar hedges an existing long IJJ 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 IJJ IV rank near 21.71% 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 IJJ at 21.00%. As a Financial Services name, IJJ options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to IJJ-specific events.
IJJ 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. IJJ positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move IJJ alongside the broader basket even when IJJ-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current IJJ chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a collar on IJJ?
- A collar on IJJ is the collar strategy applied to IJJ (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 IJJ etf at $151.56 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed IJJ chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are IJJ 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 IJJ collar priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 21.00%), the computed maximum profit is $803.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$797.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a IJJ collar?
- The breakeven for the IJJ collar priced on this page is roughly $151.97 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 IJJ market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 6.02%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a collar on IJJ?
- Collars on IJJ hedge an existing long IJJ 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 IJJ implied volatility affect this collar?
- IJJ ATM IV is at 21.00% with IV rank near 21.71%, 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.