This article is reprinted with permission from Esq. Wealth Management, Inc.
In the world of investing, protecting your hard-earned gains is just as crucial as growing your portfolio. One sophisticated strategy to preserve wealth involves using options. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or just starting out, understanding how to effectively utilize options can significantly impact your long-term financial success.
The Intuitive Approach: Selling Your Positions
At first glance, selling your winning positions might seem like the simplest and most straightforward way to lock in your gains. This approach is consistent with advice my father once gave me about Las Vegas: “When you’re up at the gambling tables, take the money off the table and walk away.” However, this strategy isn’t always the most beneficial when it comes to stock market gains.
Consider a hypothetical investor we’ll call Joe, who found himself in an enviable position when the pandemic sent stock markets tumbling. Having maintained significant cash reserves, Joe was well-prepared when the market took a nosedive in March 2020. With the cash reserves, he began dollar-cost averaging into funds tracking stock market indices that had just dropped 30%, and into various industries like hotels, airlines, and cruise lines, which had dropped as much as 70%. By June 2020, Joe’s portfolio had seen remarkable gains.
Excited by his strategic success and wanting to lock in his gains, Joe decided to sell his positions and move back into cash-equivalent holdings to earn interest. However, this intuitive move came with two significant drawbacks. First, he incurred large short-term capital gains taxes, which are significantly higher than if he had held his stock for at least one year. Second, he missed the continued run for many of his holdings. Had Joe instead employed a more sophisticated strategy using options, he could have preserved his gains while participating in the continued market rally.
Understanding Puts and Calls
Before diving into options-based strategies, let’s clarify what puts and calls allow you to do:
Put Options:
· A put gives the buyer the right (but not the obligation) to sell a stock at a specific price (the strike price) by a certain date.
· Buying a put is like purchasing insurance for your stock. If the stock price falls below the strike price, you can still sell at the higher strike price.
· Puts increase in value as the stock price falls, offsetting losses in your stock position.
Call Options:
· A call gives the buyer the right (but not the obligation) to buy a stock at a specific price by a certain date.
· Buying a call allows you to benefit from a stock’s price increase without owning the stock outright.
· Selling a call on a stock you own (a covered call) generates immediate income but limits your upside potential.
Protective Puts for Preserving Gains
Buying “protective puts” is a strategy that involves buying put options on stocks you own. Consider the impact this strategy would have had on Joe, who purchased 1,000 shares of Royal Caribbean at $23.81 on 3/16/20. With a nearly 100% return, Joe wanted to lock in his gains, so he sold his shares at $46.41 on 6/22/20. Assuming he had to pay taxes on his short-term capital gains at 50% (the IRS took 37% and California took 13%) and invested the net balance in bonds earning 2%, Joe’s account balance would be $38,051.61 today, representing approximately 60% gain after four years.
Had Joe bought a protective put rather than selling, he could have secured his gains without incurring the high tax burden and remained invested to benefit from further appreciation. Joe’s Royal Caribbean shares would have been worth $168,290 on 7/15/24, and after accounting for the cost of protective puts (approximately $2,610), his net account value would have been $165,680. This strategy would have resulted in a gain of approximately 600%, compared to Joe’s 60% gain from selling back in 2020, paying his taxes, and reinvesting in bonds.
Using Collars to Reduce Costs
Utilizing a “collar” strategy combines a protective put with selling a call option. This strategy can be particularly beneficial when you’re already considering selling your position but want to maintain some upside potential. The collar strategy can be implemented at little to no cost, as the premium received from selling the call options can offset the cost of the protective puts.
Had Joe implemented a collar strategy rather than selling his Royal Caribbean stock on 6/22/20 at $46.41, he would have made more money on the upside and potentially reduced his taxes. For example, he could have sold call options with a strike price set at a 10% premium (approximately $51.05) and bought protective puts 10% below the market price. This strategy would have cost Joe nothing and would still have allowed him to limit his downside risk.
When the market price for Royal Caribbean stock approached the strike price, Joe could buy back the call option to prevent the stock from being called away. Naturally, buying back the call option involves a cost, which would reduce the overall profitability of the strategy. Assuming Joe does not buy back the call option, the market price exceeds the strike price of $51.05, and Joe’s shares get called away, he would receive $51,050, which is $4,640 more than he received when he sold the stock outright. If the shares get called away after Joe owns them for more than one year, his long-term capital gains federal tax rate will drop from 37% to 20%. Additionally, before the shares get called away, Joe retains voting rights and receives dividends.
In summary, the collar strategy can offer greater upside potential compared to selling your investments outright. It can be cost-neutral, provide downside protection, reduce your tax burden, and allow you to continue receiving dividends. However, if the stock price declines, your losses may be greater than if you had sold outright, but these losses are limited to the strike price of the protective put.
Other Strategies
Investors may consider other strategies to hedge or protect against losses. For instance, buying puts on ETFs like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) or the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which track broader market indices, can provide downside protection across your portfolio. Another approach is using gains to invest in uncorrelated assets, potentially reducing overall portfolio risk. Advanced hedging techniques, such as using futures and forwards or employing dynamic hedging strategies, can further safeguard investments in volatile markets. Each of these strategies is beyond the scope of this article but a qualified financial advisor may help you consider these and other options based on your goals and unique circumstances.
Conclusion
The most effective approach will always be tailored to an individual’s specific financial situation, goals, and risk tolerance. At EsqWealth, we focus on crafting tailored wealth preservation strategies for clients at various stages of their investment and retirement journey. Remember, while these strategies can be powerful, they also come with their own complexities and risks. It’s important to carefully evaluate your unique circumstances and consider seeking professional guidance to determine the most appropriate approach for your specific situation.
The information above is not intended to and should not be construed as specific advice or recommendations for any individual. The opinions voiced are for general information only and are not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for tax, legal, or accounting advice. To discuss specific recommendations for any unique situation, please feel free to contact us.