VIXM Collar Strategy
VIXM (ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on CBOE.
The Fund seeks to provide investment results (before fees and expenses) that match the performance of the S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures Index. The Fund intends to obtain exposure to its Index by investing in VIX futures contracts and will also hold cash or cash equivalents.
VIXM (ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $39.5M, a beta of -0.96 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 14.13-17.72, average daily share volume of 332K, a public-listing history dating back to 2011. These structural characteristics shape how VIXM etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of -0.96 indicates VIXM has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure.
What is a collar on VIXM?
A collar pairs long stock with a protective out-of-the-money put financed by a short out-of-the-money call, capping both tails of the position around the current spot.
VIXM snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $14.18, ATM IV 11.70%, IV rank 2.19%, expected move 3.35%. The collar on VIXM 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 35-day expiry.
Why this collar structure on VIXM specifically: IV regime affects collar pricing on both sides; compressed VIXM IV at 11.70% typically pushes the short call premium to roughly offset the long put cost, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 3.35% (roughly $0.48 on the underlying). The 35-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated VIXM expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on VIXM should anchor to the underlying notional of $14.18 per share and to the trader's directional view on VIXM etf.
VIXM collar setup
The VIXM collar 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 VIXM at $14.18 on that close, the first option leg uses a $15.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed VIXM chain at a 35-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 VIXM shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $14.18 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $15.00 | $0.25 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $13.00 | $0.06 |
VIXM collar risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$1,399.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $101.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$99.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $13.99
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.020
Max profit roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium.
VIXM collar payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the collar on VIXM. 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 | -99.9% | -$99.00 |
| $3.14 | -77.8% | -$99.00 |
| $6.28 | -55.7% | -$99.00 |
| $9.41 | -33.6% | -$99.00 |
| $12.55 | -11.5% | -$99.00 |
| $15.68 | +10.6% | +$101.00 |
| $18.82 | +32.7% | +$101.00 |
| $21.95 | +54.8% | +$101.00 |
| $25.08 | +76.9% | +$101.00 |
| $28.22 | +99.0% | +$101.00 |
When traders use collar on VIXM
Collars on VIXM hedge an existing long VIXM etf position; the long put sets a floor while the short call finances it, often run as a near-zero-cost hedge during expected volatility windows.
VIXM thesis for this collar
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for VIXM extends from approximately $13.70 on the downside to $14.66 on the upside. A VIXM collar hedges an existing long VIXM position with a protective put while financing the put cost via a short call; when the premiums roughly offset, the collar acts as a near-zero-cost insurance band around the current spot. Current VIXM IV rank near 2.19% 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 VIXM at 11.70%. As a Financial Services name, VIXM options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to VIXM-specific events.
VIXM collar positions are structurally neutral (protective); 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. VIXM positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move VIXM alongside the broader basket even when VIXM-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current VIXM chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a collar on VIXM?
- A collar on VIXM is the collar strategy applied to VIXM (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral (protective): A collar pairs long stock with a protective out-of-the-money put financed by a short out-of-the-money call, capping both tails of the position around the current spot. With VIXM etf at $14.18 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed VIXM chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are VIXM collar max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium. For the VIXM collar priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 11.70%), the computed maximum profit is $101.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$99.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a VIXM collar?
- The breakeven for the VIXM collar priced on this page is roughly $13.99 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 VIXM market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 3.35%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a collar on VIXM?
- Collars on VIXM hedge an existing long VIXM etf position; the long put sets a floor while the short call finances it, often run as a near-zero-cost hedge during expected volatility windows.
- How does current VIXM implied volatility affect this collar?
- VIXM ATM IV is at 11.70% with IV rank near 2.19%, 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.