SUSL Straddle Strategy
SUSL (iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on NASDAQ.
The iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. large and mid-capitalization stocks of companies with high environmental, social, and governance performance relative to their sector peers as determined by the index provider.
SUSL (iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.09B, a beta of 1.09 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 101.45-131.94, average daily share volume of 32K, a public-listing history dating back to 2019. These structural characteristics shape how SUSL etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.09 places SUSL roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. SUSL pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a straddle on SUSL?
A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration.
Current SUSL snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $131.20, ATM IV 15.90%, IV rank 1.16%, expected move 4.56%. The straddle on SUSL 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 straddle structure on SUSL specifically: SUSL IV at 15.90% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a SUSL straddle, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 4.56% (roughly $5.98 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 SUSL expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on SUSL should anchor to the underlying notional of $131.20 per share and to the trader's directional view on SUSL etf.
SUSL straddle setup
The SUSL straddle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With SUSL near $131.20, the first option leg uses a $131.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed SUSL 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 SUSL shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $131.00 | $2.80 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $131.00 | $2.40 |
SUSL straddle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$520.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$474.57
- Breakeven(s)
- $125.80, $136.20
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- Unbounded
Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit.
SUSL straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on SUSL. 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% | +$12,579.00 |
| $29.02 | -77.9% | +$9,678.21 |
| $58.03 | -55.8% | +$6,777.41 |
| $87.03 | -33.7% | +$3,876.62 |
| $116.04 | -11.6% | +$975.82 |
| $145.05 | +10.6% | +$884.97 |
| $174.06 | +32.7% | +$3,785.76 |
| $203.07 | +54.8% | +$6,686.56 |
| $232.07 | +76.9% | +$9,587.35 |
| $261.08 | +99.0% | +$12,488.15 |
When traders use straddle on SUSL
Straddles on SUSL are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy SUSL straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
SUSL thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for SUSL extends from approximately $125.22 on the downside to $137.18 on the upside. A SUSL long straddle is a pure-volatility play: it profits when the underlying moves far enough from the strike in either direction to overcome the combined call plus put debit, regardless of direction. Current SUSL IV rank near 1.16% 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 SUSL at 15.90%. As a Financial Services name, SUSL options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to SUSL-specific events.
SUSL straddle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium); 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. SUSL positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move SUSL alongside the broader basket even when SUSL-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current SUSL chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on SUSL?
- A straddle on SUSL is the straddle strategy applied to SUSL (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium): A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration. With SUSL etf trading near $131.20, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed SUSL chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are SUSL straddle max profit and max loss calculated?
- Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit. For the SUSL straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 15.90%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$474.57 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a SUSL straddle?
- The breakeven for the SUSL straddle priced on this page is roughly $125.80 and $136.20 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 SUSL market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 4.56%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on SUSL?
- Straddles on SUSL are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy SUSL straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
- How does current SUSL implied volatility affect this straddle?
- SUSL ATM IV is at 15.90% with IV rank near 1.16%, 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.