u/AlvinoSh ·
Reddit — r/thetagang
· February 26, 2026 at 09:32
· ⬆ 32 pts
· 💬 72 comments
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AI Summary
Summary
The author, a 21-year-old investor, plans to use margin to sell cash-secured puts on the S&P 500 (SPY) to enter a leveraged position, particularly during a market downturn.
The author's thesis is that selling out-of-the-money (OTM) puts on SPY is a superior strategy to simply buying the dip, as it either generates income (if the puts expire worthless) or lowers the cost basis on shares they intended to buy anyway.
Quality assessment: This is speculation and a strategy proposal, not well-researched due diligence. The author is a novice options trader seeking validation for a theoretical plan based on a book ("Lifecycle Investing") and has not yet executed any trades.
Score32
Comments72
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I have been investing into the S&P500 for about 3 months and have a portfolio of 65k (99% IS S&P500 ETF, 1% Is free IBKR stock from my brokerage)
I'm only 21, and make decent income. I have been reading Lifecycle investing which basically explains how it is sensible and responsible to have a leveraged portfolio in your early years.
I want to do this, however for ease of mind I would rather "wait" for a crash before leveraging my potfolio. *I understand the risks for a leveraged portfolio.*
I have never traded options, However I feel like selling puts is a good way to achieve this goal.
If I am going to buy shares of SPY in a -10% downturn anyways, why shouldn't I just sell OTM puts to lower my cost basis anyways? And if SPY doesn't downturn, I collect a bit of premium.
My broker offers pretty competitive margin rates, so I'm not too worried about it.
Is there anything I should keep in mind before executing my strategy?