UTSL Iron Condor Strategy
UTSL (Direxion Daily Utilities Bull 3X ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management - Leveraged industry), listed on AMEX.
The Direxion Daily Utilities Bull 3X ETF seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of 300% of the performance of the Utilities Select Sector Index. There is no guarantee the fund will achieve its stated investment objective.
UTSL (Direxion Daily Utilities Bull 3X ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management - Leveraged, with a market capitalization of approximately $28.9M, a beta of 1.40 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 33.74-55.21, average daily share volume of 113K, a public-listing history dating back to 2017. These structural characteristics shape how UTSL etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.40 indicates UTSL has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. UTSL pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a iron condor on UTSL?
An iron condor sells a call spread and a put spread at strikes outside spot, collecting net premium that is kept if the underlying stays inside the inner short strikes.
Current UTSL snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $41.84, ATM IV 48.60%, IV rank 35.45%, expected move 13.93%. The iron condor on UTSL 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 98-day expiry.
Why this iron condor structure on UTSL specifically: UTSL IV at 48.60% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so the credit collected on a UTSL iron condor sits in line with its long-run distribution, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 13.93% (roughly $5.83 on the underlying). The 98-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated UTSL expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on UTSL should anchor to the underlying notional of $41.84 per share and to the trader's directional view on UTSL etf.
UTSL iron condor setup
The UTSL iron condor below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With UTSL near $41.84, the first option leg uses a $44.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed UTSL chain at a 98-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 UTSL shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Call | $44.00 | $4.75 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $46.00 | $3.75 |
| Sell 1 | Put | $40.00 | $3.18 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $38.00 | $3.03 |
UTSL iron condor risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$115.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $115.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$85.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $38.85, $45.15
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.353
Max profit equals the net credit times 100 inside the inner strikes; max loss equals wing width minus credit times 100. Two breakevens at inner strikes plus and minus the credit.
UTSL iron condor payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the iron condor on UTSL. 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% | -$85.00 |
| $9.26 | -77.9% | -$85.00 |
| $18.51 | -55.8% | -$85.00 |
| $27.76 | -33.7% | -$85.00 |
| $37.01 | -11.5% | -$85.00 |
| $46.26 | +10.6% | -$85.00 |
| $55.51 | +32.7% | -$85.00 |
| $64.76 | +54.8% | -$85.00 |
| $74.01 | +76.9% | -$85.00 |
| $83.26 | +99.0% | -$85.00 |
When traders use iron condor on UTSL
Iron condors on UTSL are a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that profits if UTSL etf stays inside the inner short strikes; short strikes typically sit near 1 standard deviation from spot.
UTSL thesis for this iron condor
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for UTSL extends from approximately $36.01 on the downside to $47.67 on the upside. A UTSL iron condor is a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that pays off when UTSL stays inside the inner short strikes through expiration; the wing width should reflect the trader's tolerance for the maximum loss scenario where the underlying breaches an outer strike. Current UTSL IV rank near 35.45% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the iron condor thesis on UTSL should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Financial Services name, UTSL options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to UTSL-specific events.
UTSL iron condor positions are structurally neutral / range-bound; 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. UTSL positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move UTSL alongside the broader basket even when UTSL-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a iron condor on UTSL carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical UTSL earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current UTSL chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a iron condor on UTSL?
- A iron condor on UTSL is the iron condor strategy applied to UTSL (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral / range-bound: An iron condor sells a call spread and a put spread at strikes outside spot, collecting net premium that is kept if the underlying stays inside the inner short strikes. With UTSL etf trading near $41.84, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed UTSL chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are UTSL iron condor max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the net credit times 100 inside the inner strikes; max loss equals wing width minus credit times 100. Two breakevens at inner strikes plus and minus the credit. For the UTSL iron condor priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 48.60%), the computed maximum profit is $115.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$85.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a UTSL iron condor?
- The breakeven for the UTSL iron condor priced on this page is roughly $38.85 and $45.15 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 UTSL market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 13.93%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a iron condor on UTSL?
- Iron condors on UTSL are a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that profits if UTSL etf stays inside the inner short strikes; short strikes typically sit near 1 standard deviation from spot.
- How does current UTSL implied volatility affect this iron condor?
- UTSL ATM IV is at 48.60% with IV rank near 35.45%, 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.