However, as a long-term investor, you are not normally concerned with short-term price change, so the strategy is best employed only when you believe your shares currently are overpriced, given the rate of price change and current market conditions. In this situation, using puts for insurance is speculative but may remain a prudent choice.
In the event the stock's market price rises, your potential losses are frozen at the level of the put's premium and no more. This occurs because as intrinsic value in the put declines, it is offset by a rise in the stock's market value. Whether you end up selling the put or exercising, downside protection establishes an acceptable level of loss in the form of insurance, and fixes that loss at the striking price of the put, at least for the duration of the put's life. This strategy is appropriate even when, as a long-term investor, you expect instability in the market in the short term.
Example: Damage Assessment: You recently bought 100 shares of stock at $60 per share. At the same time, you bought a put with a striking price of 60, paying 3. Your total investment is $6,300. Before making your purchase, you analyzed the potential profit and loss and concluded that your losses would probably not exceed 4.8 percent ($300 paid for the put, divided by $6,300, the total invested). You also concluded that an increase in the stock's market value of 3 points or less would not represent a profit at all, due to the investment in the put. So profits will not begin to accumulate until the stock's market value exceeds $63 per share.
The insurance strategy is also a powerful tool when you plan to sell stock within the next three years, and you are concerned about the potential for losses by that deadline. Insurance protects your value and ensures that, even if the stock's value declines dramatically, you will not lose by continuing to own the stock.
Example: A Wise Financial Planning Move: Several years ago you invested in 1,000 shares of stock and it has appreciated consistently over the years. You are planning to sell the stock in two years and use the funds as a down payment on a home. You don't want to sell the stock until it is needed, for several reasons. You will be taxed on profits in the year sold, so you want to defer that until the latest possible moment. In addition, you would prefer to continue earning dividends and, potentially, additional profits in the stock. But you also know the stock's value could fall.
The solution: Buy 10 puts to insure the value
Even a temporary decline would be serious because you will need those funds at a specific date in the futuree at the striking price. Select puts with expiration dates at or beyond your target date. This reduces your stock's value by the cost of the puts; but it also ensures that any in-the-money declines in the stock's price will be offset by gains in the puts' value.
In this case, the decision to use puts is not merely speculative; it is necessary to insure the stock's market value. A decline might be reversed within 6 to 12 months, but that could create a hardship if you have a specific date in mind to buy a house. The use of puts as insurance can be applied in many ways to protect capital invested in stocks. Even the best stocks can experience a price decline in cyclical markets. When you cannot afford even a temporary decline, puts can be used to lock in a striking price value.
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