IJR Cash-Secured Put Strategy
IJR (iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of small-capitalization U.S. equities.
IJR (iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $102.21B, a beta of 1.17 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 102.57-139.49, average daily share volume of 5.9M, a public-listing history dating back to 2000. These structural characteristics shape how IJR etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.17 places IJR roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. IJR 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 IJR?
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.
Current IJR snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $134.19, ATM IV 19.80%, IV rank 3.83%, expected move 5.68%. The cash-secured put on IJR 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 cash-secured put structure on IJR specifically: IJR IV at 19.80% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling IJR cash-secured put collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 5.68% (roughly $7.62 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 IJR expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on IJR should anchor to the underlying notional of $134.19 per share and to the trader's directional view on IJR etf.
IJR cash-secured put setup
The IJR cash-secured put below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With IJR near $134.19, the first option leg uses a $127.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed IJR 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 IJR shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Put | $127.00 | $1.75 |
IJR cash-secured put risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$175.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $175.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$12,524.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $125.25
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.014
Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.
IJR cash-secured put payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put on IJR. 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% | -$12,524.00 |
| $29.68 | -77.9% | -$9,557.10 |
| $59.35 | -55.8% | -$6,590.19 |
| $89.02 | -33.7% | -$3,623.29 |
| $118.69 | -11.6% | -$656.38 |
| $148.36 | +10.6% | +$175.00 |
| $178.02 | +32.7% | +$175.00 |
| $207.69 | +54.8% | +$175.00 |
| $237.36 | +76.9% | +$175.00 |
| $267.03 | +99.0% | +$175.00 |
When traders use cash-secured put on IJR
Cash-secured puts on IJR earn premium while a trader waits to acquire IJR etf at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning IJR.
IJR thesis for this cash-secured put
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for IJR extends from approximately $126.57 on the downside to $141.81 on the upside. A IJR cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire IJR 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 IJR IV rank near 3.83% 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 IJR at 19.80%. As a Financial Services name, IJR options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to IJR-specific events.
IJR 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. IJR positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move IJR alongside the broader basket even when IJR-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on IJR carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical IJR earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current IJR chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a cash-secured put on IJR?
- A cash-secured put on IJR is the cash-secured put strategy applied to IJR (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 IJR etf trading near $134.19, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed IJR chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are IJR 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 IJR cash-secured put priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 19.80%), the computed maximum profit is $175.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$12,524.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a IJR cash-secured put?
- The breakeven for the IJR cash-secured put priced on this page is roughly $125.25 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 IJR market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 5.68%; 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 IJR?
- Cash-secured puts on IJR earn premium while a trader waits to acquire IJR etf at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning IJR.
- How does current IJR implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
- IJR ATM IV is at 19.80% with IV rank near 3.83%, 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.