Protective Put

Hedge

Own the underlying and buy an OTM put as downside insurance.

Performance across all datasets

SymbolReturn %SharpeMax DD %Win %Avg/trade %Trades
SPY+4.8%0.06+21.9%+47.4%+0.3%19
QQQ-13.9%-0.13+26.2%+42.1%-0.7%19
IWM+1.4%0.01+34.3%+52.6%+0.1%19
DIA+17.6%0.25+15.9%+63.2%+0.9%19
Avg+2.4%0.05+24.6%+51.3%19
Cumulative P&L % — all symbols

What this shows: Overlayed cumulative return series for this strategy across all available symbols.

How to read it: Look for symbols with smoother curves and faster recoveries to assess whether performance is broad-based or driven by a few outliers.

Detail:
Cumulative P&L % — SPY

What this shows: Single-symbol cumulative return path for SPY.

How to read it: Use this detailed view to inspect entry/exit behavior over time and whether drawdowns cluster in specific periods.

Risk Profile

Max Profit
Unlimited (stock upside − premium)
Max Loss
Entry − Strike + Premium
Breakeven
Entry + Premium
Outlook
Bullish with downside protection

Parameters

ParameterDefaultDescription
strike_pct0.95Put strike (5% OTM)
dte45Days to expiration

Methodology

A protective put owns the underlying asset and buys an OTM put (95% of spot) to cap downside risk. It is portfolio insurance — the put limits losses below the strike while preserving full upside participation. The cost is the put premium, which reduces net returns. The strategy is equivalent to a long call in terms of payoff shape. Backtested with 45 DTE cycles, measuring combined stock + put P&L as a percentage of the entry price.

Implementation

# Protective Put: own stock + buy OTM put
for entry in monthly_entries:
    S = spot_at_entry
    K = round(S * 0.95 / 5) * 5   # 5% OTM put
    T = 45 / 365.25

    premium = black_scholes_put(S, K, T, r, sigma)

    S_exp = spot_at_expiry
    stock_pnl = S_exp - S
    put_payoff = max(0, K - S_exp)
    pnl = stock_pnl + put_payoff - premium
    pnl_pct = pnl / S * 100