IMCG Collar Strategy
IMCG (iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF endeavors to match the investment outcomes of a specific index. This index consists of U.S. equities from mid-capitalization firms that demonstrate significant growth potential.
IMCG (iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.17B, a beta of 1.13 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 75.67-100.79, average daily share volume of 107K, a public-listing history dating back to 2004. These structural characteristics shape how IMCG etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.13 places IMCG roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. IMCG pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a collar on IMCG?
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.
IMCG snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $100.48, ATM IV 16.50%, IV rank 1.33%, expected move 4.73%. The collar on IMCG 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 7-day expiry.
Why this collar structure on IMCG specifically: IV regime affects collar pricing on both sides; compressed IMCG IV at 16.50% typically pushes the short call premium to roughly offset the long put cost, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 4.73% (roughly $4.75 on the underlying). The 7-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated IMCG expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on IMCG should anchor to the underlying notional of $100.48 per share and to the trader's directional view on IMCG etf.
IMCG collar setup
The IMCG 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 IMCG at $100.48 on that close, the first option leg uses a $103.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed IMCG chain at a 7-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 IMCG shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $100.48 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $103.00 | $0.66 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $95.00 | $0.14 |
IMCG collar risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$9,996.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $304.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$496.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $99.96
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.613
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.
IMCG collar payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the collar on IMCG. 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% | -$496.00 |
| $22.23 | -77.9% | -$496.00 |
| $44.44 | -55.8% | -$496.00 |
| $66.66 | -33.7% | -$496.00 |
| $88.87 | -11.6% | -$496.00 |
| $111.09 | +10.6% | +$304.00 |
| $133.30 | +32.7% | +$304.00 |
| $155.52 | +54.8% | +$304.00 |
| $177.73 | +76.9% | +$304.00 |
| $199.95 | +99.0% | +$304.00 |
When traders use collar on IMCG
Collars on IMCG hedge an existing long IMCG 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.
IMCG thesis for this collar
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for IMCG extends from approximately $95.73 on the downside to $105.23 on the upside. A IMCG collar hedges an existing long IMCG 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 IMCG IV rank near 1.33% 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 IMCG at 16.50%. As a Financial Services name, IMCG options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to IMCG-specific events.
IMCG 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. IMCG positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move IMCG alongside the broader basket even when IMCG-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current IMCG chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a collar on IMCG?
- A collar on IMCG is the collar strategy applied to IMCG (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 IMCG etf at $100.48 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed IMCG chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are IMCG 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 IMCG collar priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 16.50%), the computed maximum profit is $304.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$496.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a IMCG collar?
- The breakeven for the IMCG collar priced on this page is roughly $99.96 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 IMCG market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 4.73%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a collar on IMCG?
- Collars on IMCG hedge an existing long IMCG 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 IMCG implied volatility affect this collar?
- IMCG ATM IV is at 16.50% with IV rank near 1.33%, 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.