Income strategies › Covered calls
Stop 2 of 7 on the CC Line
Covered calls rent out your shares
Already own 100 shares? Sell someone the right to buy them higher. Risk: Moderate
How it works
You own at least 100 shares and sell a call option against them. You collect a premium now. If the share price stays below the strike, the call expires worthless and you keep both shares and premium. If it rises above the strike, your shares may be called away (sold) at the strike.
When it earns
Flat to mildly rising markets. You earn the premium plus any rise up to the strike.
What can go wrong
- You still own the stock: if it falls, you lose almost as much as a plain shareholder (premium only cushions a little). Max loss = (purchase price − premium) × 100.
- Capped upside: if the stock jumps, you sell at the strike and miss the rest.
- Early assignment can happen, especially just before an ex-dividend date.
Worked example Hypothetical
You own 100 shares of fictional XYZ bought at $50. You sell one 30-day $55 call for a made-up $1.00 (= $100).
| Scenario (hypothetical) | Outcome |
|---|---|
| XYZ ends at $50 | Call expires. Keep shares + $100. |
| XYZ ends at $60 | Shares called away at $55: +$500 on shares + $100 = +$600 (max). |
| XYZ ends at $40 | −$1,000 on shares + $100 = −$900. |
| Breakeven | $49 (cost − premium) |
How fees eat into the premium
Using each broker's published fees from our own data (verified 2026-10-25): the cost to open this example (1 contract in one order) next to the hypothetical $100 credit, and the same trade if the premium were a tiny $0.10 per share. Holding to expiry avoids a closing order; closing early roughly doubles the fees.
Includes commission, platform fee, per-order minimums, estimated US regulatory fees and 9% GST; excludes FX and exchange fees. "Promo" means open-ended promos available to everyone (no new-customer offers). Try your own numbers in the fee calculator →
Where to find sell-put ideas
We don't publish option prices or trade ideas. Several Singapore brokers have built-in screeners inside their apps that filter options by strike, expiry, premium or probability, using live data you're licensed to see as their customer:
- moomoo SG: Its app has an options screening tool marketed as Easy Sell Put, plus a general options screener and strategy builder. moomoo SG (placeholder referral link) · fees
- Tiger Brokers SG: The Tiger Trade app has an options screener / strategy tools for filtering contracts. Tiger Brokers SG (placeholder referral link) · fees
- Webull SG: Webull's app includes an options screener and a strategy builder. Webull SG (placeholder referral link) · fees
- Interactive Brokers SG: IBKR's platforms include market scanners and options strategy tools (e.g. in TWS). Interactive Brokers SG (placeholder referral link) · fees
Feature names and availability change and may depend on your account's options approval level; check in the app. A screener result is not a recommendation. ⚠ Referral links above are placeholders (not live); if they become affiliate links we may earn a fee at no cost to you (disclosure).
The CC Line
Seven option income strategies, drawn as a train line. Board at CC1: each stop builds on the ones before it. Interchange stops combine earlier ones.