iShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF (IVVW) Expected Move

Expected move estimates the probable price range for a given period based on at-the-money options pricing. It reflects the market consensus for volatility over the selected timeframe.

iShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF (IVVW) operates in the Financial Services sector, specifically the Asset Management industry, with a market capitalization near $270.4M, listed on CBOE, carrying a beta of 0.56 to the broader market. The Fund seeks to track the investment results of an index that reflects a strategy of holding the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF while writing (selling) one-month call options to generate income. public since 2024-03-15.

Snapshot as of May 15, 2026.

Spot Price
$44.28
Expected Move
5.8%
Implied High
$46.84
Implied Low
$41.72
Front DTE
34 days

As of May 15, 2026, iShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF (IVVW) has an expected move of 5.79%, a one-standard-deviation implied price range of roughly $41.72 to $46.84 from the current $44.28. Expected move is derived from at-the-money straddle pricing and represents the market's pricing of a ±1σ move. Roughly 68% of outcomes should fall within this range under lognormal assumptions, though empirical markets have fatter tails.

IVVW Strategy Sizing to the Expected Move

With iShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF pricing an expected move of 5.79% from $44.28, risk-defined strategies sized to the implied range structurally target the modal outcome distribution. Iron condors with wings at the ±1σ expected move boundaries collect premium against the ~68% probability that spot stays inside the range under lognormal assumptions; strangles set wider at ±1.5σ or ±2σ target the tails but pay smaller per-trade premium. Long-vol structures (long straddles, ratio backspreads) profit when realized move exceeds the implied move, the inverse trade: they bet against the lognormal assumption itself, capitalizing on the empirically fatter equity-return tails.

Learn how expected move is reported and how to read the data →

Per-expiration expected move for IVVW derived from ATM implied volatility at each listed expiration. Implied high/low bounds are computed as $44.28 × (1 ± expected move %). One standard-deviation range under lognormal assumptions, roughly 68% of outcomes fall inside.

ExpirationDTEATM IVExpected MoveImplied HighImplied Low
Jun 18, 20263420.2%6.2%$47.01$41.55
Jul 17, 20266319.4%8.1%$47.85$40.71
Oct 16, 202615419.0%12.3%$49.74$38.82
Jan 15, 202724520.8%17.0%$51.83$36.73

Frequently asked IVVW expected move questions

What is the current IVVW expected move?
As of May 15, 2026, iShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF (IVVW) has an expected move of 5.79% over the next 34 days, implying a one-standard-deviation price range of $41.72 to $46.84 from the current $44.28. The expected move is derived from at-the-money straddle pricing and represents the market consensus for a ±1σ price move.
What does the IVVW expected move mean for traders?
Roughly 68% of outcomes should fall within ±1 expected move and 95% within ±2 under lognormal assumptions, though equity returns have empirically fatter tails than log-normal predicts. Strategies sized to the expected move (iron condors at ±1σ, strangles at ±1.5σ) target the typical outcome distribution; strategies that profit from tail moves (long-vol structures, ratio backspreads) target the tails the lognormal model under-prices.
How is IVVW expected move calculated?
The expected move displayed here is derived from at-the-money implied volatility scaled to the chosen tenor: expected move % is approximately ATM IV times sqrt(T / 365), where T is days to expiration. An equivalent straddle-based form: the ATM straddle (call + put at the same strike) is roughly sqrt(2/pi) times spot times IV times sqrt(T/365), so the implied one-standard-deviation move is approximately 1.25 times ATM straddle divided by spot. The two formulations agree once the sqrt(2/pi) constant is reconciled.