QCLN Collar 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 collar on QCLN?
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.
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 collar 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 collar structure on QCLN specifically: IV regime affects collar pricing on both sides; compressed QCLN IV at 35.90% typically pushes the short call premium to roughly offset the long put cost, 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 collar setup
The QCLN collar 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 $65.00 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $61.59 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $65.00 | $1.21 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $60.00 | $2.30 |
QCLN collar risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$6,268.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $232.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$268.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $62.68
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.866
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.
QCLN collar payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the collar 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% | -$268.00 |
| $13.63 | -77.9% | -$268.00 |
| $27.24 | -55.8% | -$268.00 |
| $40.86 | -33.7% | -$268.00 |
| $54.48 | -11.5% | -$268.00 |
| $68.09 | +10.6% | +$232.00 |
| $81.71 | +32.7% | +$232.00 |
| $95.33 | +54.8% | +$232.00 |
| $108.94 | +76.9% | +$232.00 |
| $122.56 | +99.0% | +$232.00 |
When traders use collar on QCLN
Collars on QCLN hedge an existing long QCLN 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.
QCLN thesis for this collar
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 collar hedges an existing long QCLN 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 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 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. 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. Always rebuild the position from current QCLN chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a collar on QCLN?
- A collar on QCLN is the collar strategy applied to QCLN (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 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 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 QCLN collar priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 35.90%), the computed maximum profit is $232.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$268.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a QCLN collar?
- The breakeven for the QCLN collar priced on this page is roughly $62.68 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 collar on QCLN?
- Collars on QCLN hedge an existing long QCLN 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 QCLN implied volatility affect this collar?
- 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.