VCR Cash-Secured Put Strategy
VCR (Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
Seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of stocks in the consumer discretionary sector. Passively managed, using a full-replication strategy when possible and a sampling strategy if regulatory constraints dictate. Includes stocks of companies that manufacture products and provide services that consumers purchase on a discretionary basis.
VCR (Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $7.13B, a beta of 1.26 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 346.48-414.28, average daily share volume of 64K, a public-listing history dating back to 2004. These structural characteristics shape how VCR etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.26 places VCR roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. VCR pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a cash-secured put on VCR?
A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike.
Current VCR snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $384.94, ATM IV 21.50%, IV rank 46.23%, expected move 6.16%. The cash-secured put on VCR 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 cash-secured put structure on VCR specifically: VCR IV at 21.50% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so the credit collected on a VCR cash-secured put sits in line with its long-run distribution, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 6.16% (roughly $23.73 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 VCR expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on VCR should anchor to the underlying notional of $384.94 per share and to the trader's directional view on VCR etf.
VCR cash-secured put setup
The VCR cash-secured put below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With VCR near $384.94, the first option leg uses a $365.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed VCR 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 VCR shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell 1 | Put | $365.00 | $3.95 |
VCR cash-secured put risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- +$395.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $395.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$36,104.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $361.05
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.011
Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium.
VCR cash-secured put payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the cash-secured put on VCR. 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% | -$36,104.00 |
| $85.12 | -77.9% | -$27,592.87 |
| $170.23 | -55.8% | -$19,081.75 |
| $255.34 | -33.7% | -$10,570.62 |
| $340.46 | -11.6% | -$2,059.50 |
| $425.57 | +10.6% | +$395.00 |
| $510.68 | +32.7% | +$395.00 |
| $595.79 | +54.8% | +$395.00 |
| $680.90 | +76.9% | +$395.00 |
| $766.01 | +99.0% | +$395.00 |
When traders use cash-secured put on VCR
Cash-secured puts on VCR earn premium while a trader waits to acquire VCR etf at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning VCR.
VCR thesis for this cash-secured put
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for VCR extends from approximately $361.21 on the downside to $408.67 on the upside. A VCR cash-secured put lets a trader earn premium while waiting to acquire VCR at the strike price; the strategy is most attractive when the trader is comfortable holding the underlying at that level and IV is rich enough to compensate for the assignment risk. Current VCR IV rank near 46.23% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the cash-secured put thesis on VCR should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Financial Services name, VCR options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to VCR-specific events.
VCR cash-secured put positions are structurally neutral to slightly 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. VCR positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move VCR alongside the broader basket even when VCR-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a cash-secured put on VCR carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical VCR earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current VCR chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a cash-secured put on VCR?
- A cash-secured put on VCR is the cash-secured put strategy applied to VCR (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral to slightly bullish: A cash-secured put sells an out-of-the-money put while holding cash equal to the strike-times-100 obligation, keeping the premium when the underlying stays above the strike. With VCR etf trading near $384.94, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed VCR chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are VCR cash-secured put max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals premium times 100; max loss equals strike minus premium times 100 (at zero, assuming assignment). Breakeven is strike minus premium. For the VCR cash-secured put priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 21.50%), the computed maximum profit is $395.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$36,104.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a VCR cash-secured put?
- The breakeven for the VCR cash-secured put priced on this page is roughly $361.05 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 VCR market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 6.16%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a cash-secured put on VCR?
- Cash-secured puts on VCR earn premium while a trader waits to acquire VCR etf at a target strike below the current quote; most attractive when IV is rich and the trader is comfortable owning VCR.
- How does current VCR implied volatility affect this cash-secured put?
- VCR ATM IV is at 21.50% with IV rank near 46.23%, 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.