Short Some XLF Puts
A few days ago I went short some September XLF (financial services etf) puts. Though I am losing money on the trade, I like it now more than ever given the selloff on Monday. I am currently short the September 20 and 21 puts with no hedge. Unless they expire worthless, I plan on rolling them out (and possibly down) to October on expiration.
One reason I like trading puts this way is that now, for example, I could buy the 20's back at $0.93 and sell out the October 19's at $0.98. Not much of a credit, but I could lower my strike price by 5% if I wanted to. I plan on waiting until expiration because I will probably be able to do it for more of a credit, or the puts will be expiring worthless. The only risk is that XLF will tank and there will not be any premium in the puts. That is a significant risk, but it is already trading 44% off it's high of $36 from October.


