Cash-Secured Put
Get paid to wait for a stock to reach your buy price — income with intent.
A cash-secured putSelling a put while holding cash to buy the stock. flips putThe right, not the obligation, to buy or sell at a set price.-selling into a disciplined buying strategy: you sell a putThe right, not the obligation, to buy or sell at a set price. at a strikeThe fixed price at which an option can be exercised. where you’d genuinely be happy to buy the stock, and you set aside the cash to do so. You collect premium either way.
- Setup — sell an OTMWhere an option’s strike sits relative to the current price. putThe right, not the obligation, to buy or sell at a set price. at a strikeThe fixed price at which an option can be exercised. you’d happily buy at; hold cash = strikeThe fixed price at which an option can be exercised. × lot sizeThe fixed quantity per derivatives contract. to cover assignment.
- If unassigned — keep the premium (income); repeat.
- If assigned — buy the stock at the strikeThe fixed price at which an option can be exercised. (your chosen discount), with the premium reducing your effective cost.
- Risk — same as owning the stock below the strikeThe fixed price at which an option can be exercised.; only sell on names you genuinely want to own.
How is this different from just selling a naked put?
Mechanically it *is* selling a put — “cash-secured” means you hold the full cash to buy the stock if assigned, rather than relying on margin. That removes leverage risk and ties the strategy to genuine buying intent. Selling puts on margin without the cash (or without wanting the stock) is how put-sellers get hurt in a crash.