Weekly Review: Managing Covered Calls and Cash Secured Puts with MyATMM Platform

Introduction to the MyATMM Platform

Welcome to the first official MyATMM platform video. This marks the launch of a purpose-built web application designed specifically for option sellers who trade covered calls and cash secured puts using the wheel strategy. After years of trading options and struggling with spreadsheets, calculations, and manual tracking, MyATMM was created to solve the unique challenges that income-focused traders face every week.

This weekly review demonstrates the complete workflow of an option seller managing multiple positions on a Sunday evening, preparing for the trading week ahead. You'll see firsthand how the platform handles assignments, expired positions, cost basis tracking, and new trade entries—all in one centralized location that eliminates the need for complex spreadsheets.

What is the Wheel Strategy?

The wheel strategy is a systematic approach to generating income by selling cash secured puts to acquire stock at a discount, then selling covered calls against those shares. When assignments occur, the process continues in a "wheel" pattern, creating ongoing premium income regardless of whether the stock goes up, down, or sideways.

The Problem with Spreadsheet Tracking

Most option sellers start their journey using spreadsheets to track positions, premiums, and cost basis. While this works initially, several problems quickly emerge as your trading grows:

  • Manual Data Entry Errors: One missed transaction or typo in a formula can throw off your entire cost basis calculation
  • Complex Formulas: Tracking cost basis adjustments across multiple assignments, premiums, and dividends requires increasingly complicated spreadsheet formulas
  • No Real-Time Overview: Switching between ticker details and portfolio-wide performance requires multiple tabs and manual aggregation
  • Assignment Tracking: Recording stock purchases from put assignments and adjusting collateral requires careful manual updates
  • Premium Impact: Calculating how option premiums affect your true cost basis becomes tedious with multiple positions

MyATMM eliminates these headaches by automating calculations, centralizing all transaction types, and providing instant visibility into your portfolio performance. The cost basis section becomes your command center for managing all positions in play.

The Sunday Night Weekly Review Workflow

Every Sunday, option sellers who trade weekly options need to perform a systematic review of their positions. This involves clearing out expired contracts, processing assignments, updating cost basis, and planning new trades for the upcoming week. Here's how this workflow happens in MyATMM:

Step 1: Processing Put Assignments

When your cash secured puts get assigned, you need to record the stock purchase at the strike price and remove the collateral that was backing the position. The platform makes this straightforward:

Assignment Example: CLOV

Contracts Assigned: 3 contracts (300 shares)

Strike Price: $1.50 per share

Process:

  1. Navigate to the ticker's cost basis page
  2. Record stock purchase: 300 shares at $1.50
  3. Save to generate the record
  4. Move collateral down and commit
  5. Close the expired put position
  6. Remove the collateral (stock purchase replaces it)

Result: Your cost basis now shows 300 shares owned with accurate average cost including all premiums collected along the way.

This process repeats for each assignment. In this weekly review, five different cash secured put positions were assigned across various tickers—not uncommon despite early assignments being described as "rare." The platform handles each one systematically, maintaining accurate cost basis throughout.

Step 2: Clearing Expired Positions

Options that expired worthless represent successful premium collection trades. The platform allows you to quickly clear these positions and free up collateral for new trades:

  • Navigate through each ticker using the "Next" button
  • Identify expired contracts (check expiration dates)
  • Close the position to book the premium profit
  • Remove collateral (it's now available for new trades)
  • Review the ticker's total profit/loss including all premiums

The dashboard updates in real-time, showing which positions are profitable overall and which need continued work to reach breakeven or profit status.

Step 3: Reviewing Current Cost Basis

After processing assignments and clearing expired contracts, your cost basis reflects the current state of your portfolio. The platform shows two critical numbers:

Cost Basis Without Premium: Your actual purchase price per share based on stock purchases and assignments

Cost Basis With Premium: Your effective cost after subtracting all option premiums collected on that ticker

This distinction is crucial for option sellers. A stock might show a loss on paper based on purchase price, but when you factor in the significant premiums collected, your true position could be profitable or much closer to breakeven.

Real Example: NVAX Position

Shares Owned: 2,000 shares

Cost Basis Without Premium: $32.99 per share

Cost Basis With Premium: $25.62 per share

Current Stock Price: ~$19.50

Analysis: While the stock has declined significantly from the original entry around $40, the aggressive premium collection strategy has lowered the effective cost by $7.37 per share. This demonstrates how consistent option selling can reduce losses and create a path to profitability even in challenging positions.

Planning New Trades for the Week Ahead

With assignments processed and the portfolio updated, the next step is planning new option sales for the upcoming week. This involves strategic decisions about strike selection, premium targets, and position sizing.

Selling Covered Calls on Owned Stock

For every ticker where you own shares, the goal is to have those shares working for you by selling covered calls. The key decisions include:

  • Strike Selection: Choose strikes based on your cost basis and profit goals (at breakeven, at profit, or accept a small loss if premium is attractive)
  • Expiration Choice: Weekly options provide frequent premium collection, though holiday weeks may require extending to the following Friday
  • Premium Requirements: Target premiums that justify the capital commitment (calculate weekly return × 52 to see annualized percentage)
  • Stock Movement: For volatile stocks, you can collect premium while working toward breakeven strikes over time

Covered Call Strategy: RUM

Shares Owned: 200 shares

Cost Basis: Need $13 strike to take full profit

Strike Selected: $13 call

Premium: $0.05 per share (trading in $0.05 increments)

Rationale: Even though premium is modest, if the stock reaches $13 and gets called away, the position exits with nearly $1,000 total profit. Meanwhile, the $0.05 weekly premium continues to reduce cost basis if the stock stays below the strike.

Selling Cash Secured Puts (Both Sides Strategy)

One of the most powerful strategies demonstrated in this review is "playing both sides"—simultaneously selling covered calls on owned shares and selling cash secured puts below the current price. This approach works exceptionally well for lower-priced stocks where capital requirements allow multiple positions:

Why Both Sides Works:

The stock can only move in one direction each week. Either it goes up (covered call wins), goes down (cash secured put wins), or stays flat (both positions win). One side will always generate profit, and the other may or may not get assigned. This creates consistent weekly income regardless of directional movement.

Both Sides Example: CLOV

Owned Shares: 400 shares at $1.81 average

Covered Calls: Sell 3 contracts at $2.00 strike for $0.01 each

Cash Secured Puts: Sell 2 contracts at $1.00 strike for $0.02 each

Total Position Size: ~$1,000 (staying within position sizing limits)

Outcome Scenarios:

  • Stock rises: Calls get assigned (profit), puts expire worthless (profit)
  • Stock falls: Calls expire worthless (profit), puts may assign (lowers cost basis)
  • Stock flat: Both expire worthless (double profit)

Position Sizing and Capital Management

Throughout the review, careful attention is paid to position sizing. The general guideline followed is approximately $1,000 per ticker position, which allows for:

  • Diversification across multiple tickers
  • Ability to play both sides on lower-priced stocks
  • Manageable risk if assignments occur
  • Sufficient buying power for adjustments and new opportunities

The dashboard shows total buying power and updates in real-time as you queue trades for execution. By the end of this review, buying power was reduced from $4,600 to just $459, indicating nearly full deployment of capital into premium-generating positions.

Key Platform Features Demonstrated

This weekly review showcases several critical features that make MyATMM invaluable for option sellers:

1. Dashboard Position Sizing View

The dashboard displays all tickers sorted by portfolio allocation percentage. This helps you see at a glance which positions represent the largest portions of your capital and which ones are smaller tactical plays. The color coding (red for negative, green for positive) provides instant visual feedback on which positions need attention.

2. Cost Basis Tracking with Premium Integration

Every ticker page shows your cost basis both with and without option premiums included. This dual view is essential because:

  • Brokers typically only show purchase price, not premium-adjusted cost
  • Tax reporting requires knowing actual purchase prices
  • Trading decisions should be based on true effective cost including premiums
  • You can see how much premium you've collected total per ticker

3. Collateral Management

The platform automatically tracks collateral backing cash secured puts. When assignments occur, the stock purchase replaces the collateral. When positions expire worthless, collateral is freed up for new trades. This prevents double-counting and keeps your available capital calculations accurate.

4. Transaction History

Every action is recorded with timestamps, allowing you to review exactly what happened and when. This creates an audit trail for tax purposes and helps you analyze which strategies are working best across different tickers and market conditions.

5. Real-Time Price Updates

Stock prices update twice daily, so your dashboard reflects current market values. This shows unrealized gains/losses and helps you make informed decisions about rolling positions or taking assignments.

Free Account Available

MyATMM offers a free account tier that lets you track up to 3 tickers forever—perfect for trying the platform and seeing if it fits your trading workflow. The free account includes access to the covered call analyzer screen with 10 ticker searches, giving you a solid feel for the platform's capabilities.

Strategic Insights from This Weekly Review

The Reality of Early Assignment

Contrary to the common wisdom that early assignments are "rare and random," this trader experiences regular early assignments. Five different positions were assigned in this single week. For option sellers, early assignment isn't something to fear—it's simply part of the process. The platform makes handling these assignments straightforward, turning what could be a spreadsheet nightmare into a few simple clicks.

Small Dollar Stocks and High Percentage Returns

Many of the positions demonstrated involve lower-priced stocks trading between $1 and $10 per share. While the absolute dollar amounts of premium might seem small (pennies per share), the percentage returns are remarkable:

Return Calculation Example

Premium: $0.01 per share

Collateral: $2.00 per share (100 shares = $200)

Weekly Return: $1 / $200 = 0.5%

Annualized (52 weeks): 0.5% × 52 = 26% annual return

This demonstrates how even small premiums on lower-priced stocks can generate impressive annualized returns when trading weekly options consistently.

Thanksgiving Week Adjustments

The review takes place during Thanksgiving week, which presents unique challenges. With one less trading day and reduced market activity, premiums often decrease significantly. The solution is to extend expiration to the following Friday (December 2nd in this case), where premium levels return to more attractive levels. This flexibility is part of successful weekly options trading.

Working Problem Positions

Not every position is immediately profitable. Some stocks (like NVAX in this review) represent significant challenges due to price declines. However, the platform helps you systematically work these positions by:

  • Showing exactly where you stand (cost basis with and without premium)
  • Highlighting how much premium you've collected (reducing losses)
  • Allowing you to model different strike selections to see cost basis impact
  • Tracking progress week by week as you collect more premium

The approach is to make "lemonade out of lemons"—using premium collection to gradually improve the position even when the underlying stock isn't cooperating.

Start Your Own Weekly Review Process

The systematic weekly review process demonstrated here is replicable for any option seller trading covered calls and cash secured puts. The keys to success are:

  • Consistency: Perform your review every Sunday before the market opens Monday
  • Complete Processing: Clear all expired positions and process all assignments before planning new trades
  • Strategic Planning: Review cost basis and choose strikes that align with your goals (profit, breakeven, or cost reduction)
  • Capital Management: Monitor position sizing and maintain buying power for adjustments
  • Both Sides Approach: When capital allows, consider playing both sides to guarantee one winning position each week

MyATMM streamlines this entire process, turning what would be hours of spreadsheet work into a efficient Sunday evening routine. You'll always know where you stand, what you need to do, and how each position is contributing to your overall income goals.

Platform Philosophy: MyATMM is built by an option seller for option sellers. Every feature exists to solve a real problem encountered during actual trading. The platform continues to evolve based on trader feedback and real-world use cases.

Risk Disclaimer

Options trading involves substantial risk and is not suitable for all investors. Selling covered calls and cash secured puts can result in significant losses, especially if the underlying stock price moves dramatically against your positions. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Key risks include:

  • Assignment Risk: You may be required to purchase shares at prices above current market value (puts) or sell shares at prices below current market value (calls)
  • Unlimited Downside: Cash secured puts can result in losses if the stock declines to zero
  • Opportunity Cost: Covered calls cap your upside if the stock rallies significantly
  • Capital Requirements: Option selling strategies require substantial capital to maintain positions
  • Market Volatility: Rapid price movements can result in early assignments or significant unrealized losses

This content is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The examples shown represent actual trades but do not constitute recommendations to buy or sell any specific securities. Always conduct your own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. Only trade with capital you can afford to lose.

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