Buy-write

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article is orphaned as few or no other articles link to it.
Please help introduce links in articles on related topics. (April 2008)


The term buy-write is used to describe an investment strategy in which the investor buys stocks and writes call options against the stock position. The writing of the call option provides extra income for an investor who is willing to forego some upside potential.


Contents

[edit] History

Investors have used exchange-listed options to engage in buy-write strategies since the since the 1970s, and descriptive articles were published in the The Journal of Portfolio Management in 1978 by Henry Pounds and in 1980 by Yates and Kopprasch (see references section below). However, prior to 2002 there was no major benchmark for buy-write strategies. In conjunction with a 2002 study by Professor Robert Whaley of Duke University, the Chicago Board Options Exchange introduced the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index in 2002. The BXM Index is designed to show the hypothetical performance of a strategy in which an investor buys a portfolio of the S&P 500 stocks, and also sells (or writes) covered call options on the S&P 500 Index.


Investors have used covered call strategies for more than three decades. As noted in a magazine article “Buy Writing Makes Comeback as Way to Hedge Risk.” Pensions & Investments, (May 16, 2005), two developments have enhanced the interest in covered call strategies in recent years: (1) in 2002 the Chicago Board Options Exchange introduced the first major benchmark index for covered call strategies, the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (ticker BXM), and (2) in 2004 the Ibbotson Associates consulting firm published a case study on buy-write strategies. In 2006 Callan Associates published A Review of the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index.

The BXM Index won the Most Innovative Benchmark Index award at the 2004 Super Bowl of Indexing Conference.

More than forty new buy-write investment products have been introduced since mid-2004 (see Samples section below).

[edit] Benchmark Indexes for BuyWrite Strategies


[edit] Samples of Buy-write Investment Products

[edit] References - News Clips and Magazine Articles

  • Blake, R. "Investors Are Dusting Off an Old Strategy, Options Overlay; When It Works, It Offers Both Yield Enhancement and Risk Management." Institutional Investor, (Sept. 2002), pp. 173 - 174.
  • Crawford, Gregory. “Buy Writing Makes Comeback as Way to Hedge Risk.” Pensions & Investments, (May 16, 2005).
  • Demby, E. R. “Maintaining Speed -- In a Sideways or Falling Market, Writing Covered Call Options Is One Way To Give Your Clients Some Traction.” Bloomberg Wealth Manager, (February 2005).
  • Feldman, Barry and Dhuv Roy. "Passive Options-Based Investment Strategies: The Case of the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index." The Journal of Investing, (Summer 2005).
  • Ferry, John. "An Array of Options - A Buy-write Strategy Can Add Some Octane to Portfolios When the Markets Lack Direction." Worth Magazine, (April 2005), pp. 102 - 104.
  • Hadi, Mohammed. "Buy-Write Strategy Could Help in Sideways Market." Wall Street Journal. (April 29, 2006) pg. B5.
  • Hill, Joanne, Venkatesh Balasubramanian, Krag (Buzz) Gregory, and Ingrid Tierens. "Finding Alpha via Covered Index Writing." Financial Analysts Journal. (Sept.-Oct. 2006). pp. 29-46.
  • Keenan, C. “Mass Appeal It's Still a Niche Market, But More Assets Are Flowing Into Mutual Funds That Use Hedge Fund Techniques.” Institutional Investor, ( July 2004).
  • Moran, Matthew. “Risk-adjusted Performance for Derivatives-based Indexes – Tools to Help Stabilize Returns.” The Journal of Indexes. (Fourth Quarter, 2002) pp. 34 – 40.
  • Roeder, David. "New Funds Try Options to Boost Stock Income." Chicago Sun-Times, (October 10, 2004).
  • Tan, Kopin, "Yield Boost -- Firms Market Covered-call Writing to Up Returns." Barron's, (Oct. 25, 2004).
  • Wasik, J. “Used Wisely, Options Can Help Dodge Stock Losses.” Bloomberg News, (May 15, 2005).
  • Woolley, S. “Squeeze Your Portfolio Harder,” BusinessWeek, (December 27, 2004).


[edit] External Links -- Education and Benchmark Indexes