MEMX Cash-Secured Put Strategy

MEMX (Matthews Emerging Markets ex China Active ETF MEMX), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management - Global industry), listed on AMEX.

The fund's primary goal is typically met by dedicating at least 80% of its total assets (including any borrowed capital used for investment) to the common and preferred shares of businesses operating in emerging market countries, explicitly excluding China. While the portfolio may include holdings in companies from developed nations or China, a key constraint applies: at the moment of acquisition, the fund cannot buy shares in any company based in a developed country or China if its combined exposure to these regions already exceeds 20% of its assets.

MEMX (Matthews Emerging Markets ex China Active ETF MEMX) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management - Global, with a market capitalization of approximately $49.8M, a beta of 1.18 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 32.5-51.52, average daily share volume of 3K, a public-listing history dating back to 2023. These structural characteristics shape how MEMX etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 1.18 places MEMX roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. MEMX 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 MEMX?

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 MEMX snapshot

As of June 30, 2026, spot at $39.87, ATM IV 257.70%, IV rank 100.00%, expected move 73.88%. The cash-secured put on MEMX 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 80-day expiry.

Why this cash-secured put structure on MEMX specifically: MEMX IV at 257.70% is rich versus its 1-year range, which favors premium-selling structures like a MEMX cash-secured put, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 73.88% (roughly $29.46 on the underlying). The 80-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated MEMX expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on MEMX should anchor to the underlying notional of $39.87 per share and to the trader's directional view on MEMX etf.

MEMX cash-secured put setup

The MEMX 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 MEMX near $39.87, the first option leg uses a $38.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed MEMX chain at a 80-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 MEMX shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

ActionTypeStrike / BasisPremium (est)
Sell 1Put$38.00$7.87

MEMX cash-secured put risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit
+$787.00
Max Profit (per contract)
$787.00
Max Loss (per contract)
-$3,012.00
Breakeven(s)
$30.13
Risk / Reward Ratio
0.261

Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.

MEMX cash-secured put payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put on MEMX. 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.

MEMX cash-secured put profit and loss curve at expiration with breakevens and current spot markedMEMX cash-secured put payoff at expiration-$3000-$2000-$1000$0$10$20$30$40$50$60$70Underlying Price ($)P&L at Expiration ($)BE $30.13Spot $39.87
P&L at expiration across the modeled underlying-price range. Green shading marks profitable regions, red shading marks loss regions. Dotted purple verticals mark breakevens; the solid dark vertical marks current spot.
Underlying Price% From SpotP&L at Expiration
$0.01-100.0%-$3,012.00
$8.82-77.9%-$2,130.56
$17.64-55.8%-$1,249.13
$26.45-33.7%-$367.69
$35.27-11.5%+$513.75
$44.08+10.6%+$787.00
$52.90+32.7%+$787.00
$61.71+54.8%+$787.00
$70.52+76.9%+$787.00
$79.34+99.0%+$787.00

When traders use cash-secured put on MEMX

Cash-secured puts on MEMX earn premium while a trader waits to acquire MEMX etf at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning MEMX.

MEMX thesis for this cash-secured put

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for MEMX extends from approximately $10.41 on the downside to $69.33 on the upside. A MEMX cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire MEMX 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 MEMX IV rank near 100.00% sits in the upper third of its 1-year distribution, which historically reverts; this raises the bar for premium-buying structures and lowers it for premium-selling structures on MEMX at 257.70%. As a Financial Services name, MEMX options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to MEMX-specific events.

MEMX 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. MEMX positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move MEMX alongside the broader basket even when MEMX-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on MEMX carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical MEMX earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current MEMX chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a cash-secured put on MEMX?
A cash-secured put on MEMX is the cash-secured put strategy applied to MEMX (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 MEMX etf trading near $39.87, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed MEMX chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are MEMX 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 MEMX cash-secured put priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 257.70%), the computed maximum profit is $787.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$3,012.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a MEMX cash-secured put?
The breakeven for the MEMX cash-secured put priced on this page is roughly $30.13 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 MEMX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 73.88%; 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 MEMX?
Cash-secured puts on MEMX earn premium while a trader waits to acquire MEMX etf at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning MEMX.
How does current MEMX implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
MEMX ATM IV is at 257.70% with IV rank near 100.00%, which is elevated relative to its 1-year range. Premium-selling structures (covered call, cash-secured put, iron condor) generally look more attractive when IV rank is high; premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are more expensive in that regime.

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