QUS Butterfly Strategy
QUS (State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the total return performance of the MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Capped Index (the "Index")Seeks to track a Smart Beta index that blends low volatility, quality and value exposures together in a single strategyThe resulting mix may offer a low-volatility strategy with an equal focus on high-quality and attractively valued firmsMulti-factor smart beta strategies can bridge the gap between active and passive management, providing an opportunity for investors to rethink exposures and potentially maximize risk-adjusted returns more efficiently
QUS (State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.49B, a beta of 0.76 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 156.191-183.59, average daily share volume of 36K, a public-listing history dating back to 2015. These structural characteristics shape how QUS etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.76 places QUS roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. QUS pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on QUS?
A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration.
Current QUS snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $183.53, ATM IV 13.00%, IV rank 25.15%, expected move 3.73%. The butterfly on QUS 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 butterfly structure on QUS specifically: QUS IV at 13.00% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a QUS butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 3.73% (roughly $6.84 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 QUS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on QUS should anchor to the underlying notional of $183.53 per share and to the trader's directional view on QUS etf.
QUS butterfly setup
The QUS butterfly below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With QUS near $183.53, the first option leg uses a $174.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed QUS 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 QUS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $174.00 | $10.70 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $184.00 | $2.73 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $190.00 | $0.48 |
QUS butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$573.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $381.28
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$573.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $179.73, $188.27
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.665
Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit.
QUS butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on QUS. 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% | -$573.00 |
| $40.59 | -77.9% | -$573.00 |
| $81.17 | -55.8% | -$573.00 |
| $121.75 | -33.7% | -$573.00 |
| $162.32 | -11.6% | -$573.00 |
| $202.90 | +10.6% | -$173.00 |
| $243.48 | +32.7% | -$173.00 |
| $284.06 | +54.8% | -$173.00 |
| $324.64 | +76.9% | -$173.00 |
| $365.22 | +99.0% | -$173.00 |
When traders use butterfly on QUS
Butterflies on QUS are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect QUS to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
QUS thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for QUS extends from approximately $176.69 on the downside to $190.37 on the upside. A QUS long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if QUS settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current QUS IV rank near 25.15% 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 QUS at 13.00%. As a Financial Services name, QUS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to QUS-specific events.
QUS butterfly positions are structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward); 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. QUS positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move QUS alongside the broader basket even when QUS-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current QUS chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on QUS?
- A butterfly on QUS is the butterfly strategy applied to QUS (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward): A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration. With QUS etf trading near $183.53, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed QUS chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are QUS butterfly max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit. For the QUS butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 13.00%), the computed maximum profit is $381.28 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$573.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a QUS butterfly?
- The breakeven for the QUS butterfly priced on this page is roughly $179.73 and $188.27 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 QUS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 3.73%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on QUS?
- Butterflies on QUS are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect QUS to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
- How does current QUS implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- QUS ATM IV is at 13.00% with IV rank near 25.15%, 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.