SYLD Butterfly Strategy
SYLD (Cambria Shareholder Yield ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on CBOE.
SYLD actively selects US stocks that exhibit high shareholder yield which is calculated by considering companys cash flow measures. Selection starts with the top 20% stocks by combining two popular themes dividend payments and share buybacks. The funds quantitative algorithm then factors in the debt paydowns of the remaining stocks and applies valuation factors. The top 100 stocks that represents the best combination of shareholder yield characteristics and value metrics forms the final portfolio. The fund equal weights its holdings during normal market condition, and is rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly. SYLD generally holds large-caps, but may invest in small- and midcap stocks.
SYLD (Cambria Shareholder Yield ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $959.9M, a beta of 0.74 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 65.26-85.57, average daily share volume of 47K, a public-listing history dating back to 2013. These structural characteristics shape how SYLD etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.74 places SYLD roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. SYLD pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on SYLD?
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.
SYLD snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $86.28, ATM IV 19.20%, IV rank 26.17%, expected move 5.50%. The butterfly on SYLD below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 7-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on SYLD specifically: SYLD IV at 19.20% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a SYLD butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 5.50% (roughly $4.75 on the underlying). The 7-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated SYLD expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on SYLD should anchor to the underlying notional of $86.28 per share and to the trader's directional view on SYLD etf.
SYLD butterfly setup
The SYLD butterfly below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With SYLD at $86.28 on that close, the first option leg uses a $82.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed SYLD chain at a 7-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 SYLD shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $82.00 | $4.30 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $85.00 | $2.57 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $90.00 | $0.58 |
SYLD butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$26.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $324.44
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$174.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $88.26
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.865
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.
SYLD butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on SYLD. 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% | +$26.00 |
| $19.09 | -77.9% | +$26.00 |
| $38.16 | -55.8% | +$26.00 |
| $57.24 | -33.7% | +$26.00 |
| $76.31 | -11.6% | +$26.00 |
| $95.39 | +10.6% | -$174.00 |
| $114.47 | +32.7% | -$174.00 |
| $133.54 | +54.8% | -$174.00 |
| $152.62 | +76.9% | -$174.00 |
| $171.69 | +99.0% | -$174.00 |
When traders use butterfly on SYLD
Butterflies on SYLD are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect SYLD 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.
SYLD thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for SYLD extends from approximately $81.53 on the downside to $91.03 on the upside. A SYLD long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if SYLD settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current SYLD IV rank near 26.17% 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 SYLD at 19.20%. As a Financial Services name, SYLD options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to SYLD-specific events.
SYLD 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. SYLD positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move SYLD alongside the broader basket even when SYLD-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current SYLD chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on SYLD?
- A butterfly on SYLD is the butterfly strategy applied to SYLD (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 SYLD etf at $86.28 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed SYLD chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are SYLD 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 SYLD butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 19.20%), the computed maximum profit is $324.44 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$174.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a SYLD butterfly?
- The breakeven for the SYLD butterfly priced on this page is roughly $88.26 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain's premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The SYLD market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 5.50%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on SYLD?
- Butterflies on SYLD are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect SYLD 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 SYLD implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- SYLD ATM IV is at 19.20% with IV rank near 26.17%, 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.