SCJ Bull Call Spread Strategy
SCJ (iShares MSCI Japan Small-Cap ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
The iShares MSCI Japan Small-Cap ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of small-capitalization Japanese equities.
SCJ (iShares MSCI Japan Small-Cap ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $190.6M, a beta of 0.83 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 79.4-107.32, average daily share volume of 87K, a public-listing history dating back to 2007. These structural characteristics shape how SCJ etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.83 places SCJ roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. SCJ pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a bull call spread on SCJ?
A bull call spread buys an at-the-money call and sells an out-of-the-money call at a higher strike for defined risk and defined reward bounded by the strike width.
Current SCJ snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $104.60, ATM IV 27.40%, IV rank 30.08%, expected move 7.86%. The bull call spread on SCJ 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 bull call spread structure on SCJ specifically: SCJ IV at 27.40% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so strategy selection should anchor more to the directional thesis than to the IV regime, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 7.86% (roughly $8.22 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 SCJ expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on SCJ should anchor to the underlying notional of $104.60 per share and to the trader's directional view on SCJ etf.
SCJ bull call spread setup
The SCJ bull call spread below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With SCJ near $104.60, the first option leg uses a $105.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed SCJ 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 SCJ shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $105.00 | $3.50 |
| Sell 1 | Call | $110.00 | $1.38 |
SCJ bull call spread risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$212.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $288.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$212.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $107.12
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.358
Max profit equals strike width minus net debit times 100; max loss equals net debit times 100. Breakeven is long-call strike plus net debit.
SCJ bull call spread payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the bull call spread on SCJ. 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% | -$212.00 |
| $23.14 | -77.9% | -$212.00 |
| $46.26 | -55.8% | -$212.00 |
| $69.39 | -33.7% | -$212.00 |
| $92.52 | -11.6% | -$212.00 |
| $115.64 | +10.6% | +$288.00 |
| $138.77 | +32.7% | +$288.00 |
| $161.90 | +54.8% | +$288.00 |
| $185.02 | +76.9% | +$288.00 |
| $208.15 | +99.0% | +$288.00 |
When traders use bull call spread on SCJ
Bull call spreads on SCJ reduce the cost of a bullish SCJ etf position by selling a higher-strike call; suited to moderate-move theses where price reaches but does not vastly exceed the short strike.
SCJ thesis for this bull call spread
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for SCJ extends from approximately $96.38 on the downside to $112.82 on the upside. A SCJ bull call spread caps both the risk and the reward of a bullish position; relative to an outright long call on SCJ, the spread reduces the cost basis but limits the maximum profit to the strike width minus net debit. Current SCJ IV rank near 30.08% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the bull call spread thesis on SCJ should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Financial Services name, SCJ options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to SCJ-specific events.
SCJ bull call spread positions are structurally moderately 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. SCJ positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move SCJ alongside the broader basket even when SCJ-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Long-premium structures like a bull call spread on SCJ are particularly exposed to IV-crush risk through scheduled events (earnings, FDA decisions, central-bank meetings) where IV typically contracts post-event regardless of the directional outcome. Always rebuild the position from current SCJ chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a bull call spread on SCJ?
- A bull call spread on SCJ is the bull call spread strategy applied to SCJ (etf). The strategy is structurally moderately bullish: A bull call spread buys an at-the-money call and sells an out-of-the-money call at a higher strike for defined risk and defined reward bounded by the strike width. With SCJ etf trading near $104.60, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed SCJ chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are SCJ bull call spread max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals strike width minus net debit times 100; max loss equals net debit times 100. Breakeven is long-call strike plus net debit. For the SCJ bull call spread priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 27.40%), the computed maximum profit is $288.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$212.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a SCJ bull call spread?
- The breakeven for the SCJ bull call spread priced on this page is roughly $107.12 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 SCJ market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 7.86%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a bull call spread on SCJ?
- Bull call spreads on SCJ reduce the cost of a bullish SCJ etf position by selling a higher-strike call; suited to moderate-move theses where price reaches but does not vastly exceed the short strike.
- How does current SCJ implied volatility affect this bull call spread?
- SCJ ATM IV is at 27.40% with IV rank near 30.08%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.