QCLN Cash-Secured Put Strategy
QCLN (First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on NASDAQ.
The First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund is an exchange-traded index fund. The objective of the Fund is to seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund's fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy Index.
QCLN (First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $805.0M, a beta of 1.97 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 29.57-63.3, average daily share volume of 136K, a public-listing history dating back to 2007. These structural characteristics shape how QCLN etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.97 indicates QCLN has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. QCLN 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 QCLN?
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 QCLN snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $61.59, ATM IV 35.90%, IV rank 26.86%, expected move 10.29%. The cash-secured put on QCLN 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 QCLN specifically: QCLN IV at 35.90% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling QCLN cash-secured put collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 10.29% (roughly $6.34 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 QCLN expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on QCLN should anchor to the underlying notional of $61.59 per share and to the trader's directional view on QCLN etf.
QCLN cash-secured put setup
The QCLN 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 QCLN near $61.59, the first option leg uses a $60.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed QCLN 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 QCLN shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Put | $60.00 | $2.30 |
QCLN cash-secured put risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$230.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $230.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$5,769.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $57.70
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.040
Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.
QCLN cash-secured put payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put on QCLN. 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% | -$5,769.00 |
| $13.63 | -77.9% | -$4,407.32 |
| $27.24 | -55.8% | -$3,045.64 |
| $40.86 | -33.7% | -$1,683.96 |
| $54.48 | -11.5% | -$322.29 |
| $68.09 | +10.6% | +$230.00 |
| $81.71 | +32.7% | +$230.00 |
| $95.33 | +54.8% | +$230.00 |
| $108.94 | +76.9% | +$230.00 |
| $122.56 | +99.0% | +$230.00 |
When traders use cash-secured put on QCLN
Cash-secured puts on QCLN earn premium while a trader waits to acquire QCLN etf at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning QCLN.
QCLN thesis for this cash-secured put
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for QCLN extends from approximately $55.25 on the downside to $67.93 on the upside. A QCLN cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire QCLN 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 QCLN IV rank near 26.86% 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 QCLN at 35.90%. As a Financial Services name, QCLN options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to QCLN-specific events.
QCLN 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. QCLN positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move QCLN alongside the broader basket even when QCLN-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on QCLN carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical QCLN earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current QCLN chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a cash-secured put on QCLN?
- A cash-secured put on QCLN is the cash-secured put strategy applied to QCLN (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 QCLN etf trading near $61.59, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed QCLN chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are QCLN 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 QCLN cash-secured put priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 35.90%), the computed maximum profit is $230.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$5,769.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a QCLN cash-secured put?
- The breakeven for the QCLN cash-secured put priced on this page is roughly $57.70 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 QCLN market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.29%; 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 QCLN?
- Cash-secured puts on QCLN earn premium while a trader waits to acquire QCLN etf at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning QCLN.
- How does current QCLN implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
- QCLN ATM IV is at 35.90% with IV rank near 26.86%, 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.