How Ravish Ahuja Made $1 Million with Low-Risk Options Strategies

Core thesis / portfolio framework (“80/20 barbell”)

• 80% of capital: allocated to low-risk / hedged options strategies intended to have very limited drawdown (aimed to be lower risk than buying & holding S&P).
• 20% of capital: allocated to higher-risk, higher-reward options strategies (e.g., double calendars, LEAPS-type ideas) used for upside.

Macro / benchmark context

Buy & hold S&P 500 is cited as:

• Typical annual return: ~10%/year
• Worst-case drawdown: ~ -50% (example: 2008)
• Drawdowns: 20–30% every few years

Claimed performance / outcomes (explicit claims)

• “In the last couple of years” using these two strategies: >$1,000,000 profit.
• Speaker (John/guest) says:
  • Started an options account in February and is up ~65% YTD within ~5 months.
  • Mentions a long-term low-risk account also performing well (no exact % given).

Disclosures / cautions mentioned

• The video includes marketing-style “zero risk” claims, presented as mechanics (no formal “not financial advice” disclaimer appears in the provided subtitles).
• A live-stream CTA appears (“Theta Profits”) with no financial regulator disclaimer shown in the subtitles provided.

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Strategy 1 (80% side): Sell LEAPS covered calls (“high-reward low-risk”)

High-level setup

• Instead of weekly/monthly covered calls (which the speaker argues can create large drawdowns when stocks drop), the approach is:
  • Sell LEAPS covered calls with ~6 to 24 months expiry.
  • Do this on underlyings the investor wants to hold long-term.

Methodology / framework (as described)

1. Choose underlyings you’d be comfortable holding long-term (stocks/ETFs).
2. Sell a covered call far-dated (LEAPS, generally 6–12 months, “anywhere between 6 to 24 month expiry”).
3. Prefer entry on pullbacks/big drops to benefit from higher implied volatility (IV) (higher option premiums).

Example: HIMS (ticker: HIMS)

• Short-dated vs LEAPS contrast:

  • 1-month covered call at $50 strike (ATM):
    • Cited credit: ~$355
  • Short-dated risk example:
    • ~$40 / $380 (subtitles unclear; intent: short expiry captures less premium relative to downside exposure)
  • “Protection” for short-term case:
    • ~7.5%, but the stock can drop 5–10% in a single day.

• LEAPS covered call example:

  • Sell Jun 18th $50 call for ~$1,400 credit
  • “Max loss/debit” cited: ~$3,350 (messy wording; intent: long expiry provides much more cushion)
  • Performance claims:
    • If stock goes up “a little”: ~49% profit in 10 months
    • If stock stays the same: ~41% profit
    • If stock drops: still profitable down to break-even around -29%

Rules / risk management behavior

• If the stock drops sharply after entering:
  • The LEAPS call loses value; speaker says they can close the covered call and hold shares.
• If the stock later recovers:
  • Can sell another covered call at the same strike, collecting more premium.
• Targets / exits:
  • Close at ~80% of max profit to free cash for new opportunities.

Diversification / sizing

• Typical number of positions: ~10 tickers
• Deploys six figures per trade
• Uses 5–10 different underlyings per account/tranche
• Goal: “set and forget”, minimal monitoring for 6–12 months

Claimed track record example

• In 2022 (market down):
  • Covered calls went worthless
  • Strategy still supported capital deployment; later recovery in 2023
• Claimed result: up 200–500% on some positions over a couple of years.

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Strategy 2 (80% side): Collar, configured for “zero/near-zero risk”

Basic collar definition (as described)

• Buy 100 shares of the underlying.
• Sell a covered call (collect premium).
• Use the call premium to buy a put for downside protection.
• Result: range-bound payoff
  • Upside capped above call strike
  • Downside protected below put strike

Example: Collar on HIMS (shorter-dated)

• Buy 100 shares for $47.50 (total $4,750)
• Sell covered call at $55 strike for $229 credit
• Use ~$229 to buy a put (net options close to ~zero debit)
• Claimed outcome for 1 month expiry:
  • Upside max: ~16%
  • Downside protection: ~9.5%
  • Asymmetric risk described as: risk about 10% to make 16%

Speaker’s “different” long-term collar logic

• For long-dated LEAPS, the speaker claims:
  • Calls can become more expensive than puts due to a “Row” / interest rate component (term unclear; intent is financing/interest-rate effects).
  • Market skew may price long-term upside > downside.

Methodology / framework (step-by-step as described)

1. Select long-term expiry (example: Dec 18th next year, “a little more than 12 months”).
2. Buy an ATM put:
   • Example cost: ~$1,470
3. Sell a covered call at a slightly higher strike:
   • Example: sell around $55 to bring net debit close to zero
4. Intent: zero-risk / very limited downside with defined upside.

Quant examples from the subtitles (long-term collar)

• “Zero risk” claim example:
  • Upside: ~20% profit
  • If stock stays the same: ~3.5%
  • Downside still profitable: ~2.2%
  • Claims: “will not lose a penny”
  • Also states “100% chance of profit” with a min ~$100 / max ~$900 (context unclear; intent is narrow loss floor)

Optimization via strike selection (trade-offs)

• If willing to take more downside (example strikes):
  • Move put strike lower to $42 (“willing to take 10% risk”)
  • Payoff changes:
    • Upside: ~56%
    • Downside: ~13%
  • Claim: “four times more profit than risk involved.”

Longer timeline extension (example ~2 years)

• Example: go to Dec 27 (“a little over 2 years”)
• Call strike roll “up to 95 call strike”
• Claim: ~100% profit with ~16% risk

Monitoring / rebalancing behavior

• Collars are treated as “set and forget” like a real estate deal for about 1 year or longer.
• Collars can be initiated:
  • When the market goes down, or
  • On existing holdings if risk/FOMO increases after a run-up

Biggest disadvantage stated

• Upside is capped.
• If the stock rallies quickly, realized profit may lag, e.g.:
  • If upside target is 50% in one year but the stock rallies 100% quickly, the position may capture only ~50% due to call strike cap.
  • If it runs up 50% within 3 months, the position may show only ~25% gain because profit realization depends on time/volatility and the call-put structure.

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Underlyings / instruments explicitly mentioned (tickers/assets)

• S&P 500 (benchmark; no ticker given)
• NASDAQ (benchmark; no ticker given)
• HIMS
• Nvidia (ticker not written, but mentioned)
• ETFs:
  • Triple Q (likely referencing TQQQ in spirit; exact ticker shown as “Triple Q”)
• Leveraged ETF:
  • Tleq (likely TLEQ; subtitle spelling shown as “Tleq”)
• Large-cap stocks mentioned for examples:
  • Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Amazon, Google (tickers not explicitly provided)

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Key numbers and targets pulled from the subtitles

• Benchmark:
  • ~10%/year for S&P (stated typical)
  • Drawdown potential: ~ -50% (2008 example)
  • Periodic drawdowns: 20–30% every few years
• Capital allocation:
  • 80% low-risk / 20% high-risk
• Covered call (LEAPS) example on HIMS:
  • Break-even downside: ~ -29%
  • Profit claims: ~41% to 49% over ~10 months (depends on price path)
• Collar example (HIMS, 1-month):
  • Upside: ~16%
  • Downside protection: ~9.5%
• Collar “long-term zero-risk” example:
  • Upside: ~20%
  • Flat: ~3.5%
  • Downside still profitable: ~2.2%
• Collar optimization:
  • More downside tolerance:
    • Upside ~56%, downside ~13%
  • Longer horizon (~2 years):
    • Upside/profit ~100%, risk ~16%
• Exits:
  • Covered call strategy: close at ~80% of max profit

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Presenter / sources mentioned

• Ravish Ahuja (options strategy trader; primary source)
• John (host/interviewer; subtitles show “Hey John” and “Back to the interview”)
• Mentions for upcoming event guests (Theta Profits live stream):
  • Tammy Chamblas (“queen of zero”)
  • Dale Perman (“iron flag guy”)
  • Mark Anderson (“zero day mark”)
• Mentions of Theta Profits (event/channel name)