IXUS Collar Strategy
IXUS (iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management - Global industry), listed on NASDAQ.
The iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF is designed to replicate the investment returns of an index consisting of large, mid, and small-cap companies based outside the United States.
IXUS (iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management - Global, with a market capitalization of approximately $60.13B, a beta of 0.92 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 78.69-98.09, average daily share volume of 1.9M, a public-listing history dating back to 2012. These structural characteristics shape how IXUS etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.92 places IXUS roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. IXUS pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a collar on IXUS?
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.
IXUS snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $97.94, ATM IV 14.10%, IV rank 10.26%, expected move 4.04%. The collar on IXUS 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 IXUS specifically: IV regime affects collar pricing on both sides; compressed IXUS IV at 14.10% typically pushes the short call premium to roughly offset the long put cost, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 4.04% (roughly $3.96 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 IXUS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on IXUS should anchor to the underlying notional of $97.94 per share and to the trader's directional view on IXUS etf.
IXUS collar setup
The IXUS 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 IXUS at $97.94 on that close, the first option leg uses a $101.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed IXUS 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 IXUS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $97.94 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $101.00 | $0.13 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $93.00 | $0.03 |
IXUS collar risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$9,784.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $316.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$484.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $97.84
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.653
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.
IXUS collar payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the collar on IXUS. 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% | -$484.00 |
| $21.66 | -77.9% | -$484.00 |
| $43.32 | -55.8% | -$484.00 |
| $64.97 | -33.7% | -$484.00 |
| $86.63 | -11.6% | -$484.00 |
| $108.28 | +10.6% | +$316.00 |
| $129.93 | +32.7% | +$316.00 |
| $151.59 | +54.8% | +$316.00 |
| $173.24 | +76.9% | +$316.00 |
| $194.90 | +99.0% | +$316.00 |
When traders use collar on IXUS
Collars on IXUS hedge an existing long IXUS 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.
IXUS thesis for this collar
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for IXUS extends from approximately $93.98 on the downside to $101.90 on the upside. A IXUS collar hedges an existing long IXUS 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 IXUS IV rank near 10.26% 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 IXUS at 14.10%. As a Financial Services name, IXUS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to IXUS-specific events.
IXUS 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. IXUS positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move IXUS alongside the broader basket even when IXUS-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current IXUS chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a collar on IXUS?
- A collar on IXUS is the collar strategy applied to IXUS (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 IXUS etf at $97.94 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed IXUS chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are IXUS 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 IXUS collar priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 14.10%), the computed maximum profit is $316.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$484.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a IXUS collar?
- The breakeven for the IXUS collar priced on this page is roughly $97.84 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 IXUS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 4.04%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a collar on IXUS?
- Collars on IXUS hedge an existing long IXUS 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 IXUS implied volatility affect this collar?
- IXUS ATM IV is at 14.10% with IV rank near 10.26%, 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.