The Ride Trade: SPY Options Income Strategy | Consistent Results Since 2021

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The SPY Ride Trade is a non-directional options strategy built on three calendar spreads — designed to profit from time decay while keeping directional risk small and manageable. Target: 10–15% return per trade, typically achieved in 30–40 days. A delta-neutral income approach on the most liquid ETF in the market.

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Stock Options Strategy: The Ride Trade

Description

You can learn and follow my Ride Trades by subscribing to the Trading Community.

What the Ride Trade is

The Ride Trade uses a structure of Calendar Spreads on SPY options, positioned to profit from two sources simultaneously:

Positive Theta — the position generates income from time decay. Time passing works in your favour from day one.
Positive Vega — the position benefits when implied volatility increases. An IV spike that would hurt many other strategies actually helps the Ride Trade — which is why it complements the SPX Best strategy (which is Vega negative) as a natural portfolio hedge.

This dual characteristic — profiting from both time decay and IV expansion — makes the Ride Trade particularly well-suited to low IV environments, where the SPX Best may produce thinner premium. The two strategies are designed to work together across all market conditions.

What "non-directional" means for the Ride Trade:

Like all my strategies, the Ride Trade does not require predicting which way the market will move. The calendar spread structure creates a wide price range where SPY can move — up, down, or sideways — while still generating a profit. Even in cases of larger moves, defined adjustment protocols manage the directional risk and keep the position working.

Key characteristics:

Structure: Calendar Spreads using Delta-based strike selection that adapts to market conditions at entry
Expiration selection: Longer-dated options chosen specifically to reduce volatility and minimise adjustment frequency compared to short-dated alternatives
Delta target: Near-neutral at entry, with adjustments made to maintain control as the underlying moves
Minimum account size: $5,000 suggested. Typical capital allocated per position: ~$4,500
Time commitment: 15–30 minutes per day to monitor. Adjustments average less than once per week outside of the final 50 DTE period

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Live performance record

The performance data below reflects real trades in a real account — not backtested simulations.

2021 full-year performance (the most comprehensively documented period):

The Ride Trade is actively traded in my account alongside the SPX Best. The full monthly fund record is publicly available on the Trading Account page.

→ View the complete performance record

How the Ride Trade complements the SPX Best

Most traders look for a single strategy to trade in all conditions. I've found that running the Ride Trade and the SPX Best simultaneously gives the portfolio a structural advantage:

The SPX Best is Vega negative, it benefits from IV contraction and high IV at entry
The Ride Trade is Vega positive; it benefits from IV expansion and low IV at entry

This means when market conditions favour one strategy, they often provide a hedge for the other. In practice, I typically have 1 Ride Trade positions and 3 SPX Best positions open simultaneously at different expirations, creating a balanced, income-generating portfolio that works across all market regimes.

This is not a coincidence. It's a deliberate design of the fund's portfolio construction.

The strategy is live. The next trade is coming.

Every SPX Best position I open goes into the Trading Room the moment I place it — with the full rationale, the strikes, the payoff diagram, and the brokerage screenshot. The next trade will be there. So will every adjustment. So will the close.

The best way to learn this strategy is to watch it happen in real market conditions, alongside the community, with every decision explained as it's made.

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Frequently asked questions

You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers.

In what market conditions is this strategy best used?

The Ride Trade is best used in a low IV market environment or in an increasing IV. This strategy uses a combination of Calendar Spreads that produce positive Vega and, hence, will benefit from an increasing IV. Since it uses longer-term options, the trade reacts well to sudden IV spikes.

What is the profitability of this strategy?

The average expected profit is about 10-15% per month. Nevertheless, the market may react negatively to the position and could produce losses. In these cases, there are specific guidelines to have risk under control. The strategy was strongly positive in the last quarter of 2021 (under an increasing SPX and low IV environment). This strategy can be used in tandem with the SPX Best strategy to hedge against Vega.

Do you offer trade signals of your trades?

Indeed! I am trading my own Hedge Fund, where I am using this strategy. Everyone who wants to access my trades can enroll in the trading community, where I am disclosing all fund trades in real-time through a Discord channel.

Do you provide trade resumes and explanations?

Indeed. All trading community subscribers will receive an explanation of each trade and the evolution of the adjustments made during the open trade period. This can be accessed via the community web post as well as by email when it is published.

Here you have an example:

Every post is composed of:

1. Trade rationale;
2. Screenshot of options structure risk profile from Thinkorswim platform;
3. Screenshot of "filled orders" tab from Thinkorswing platform;
4. Position status with all the adjustments performed on the trade for easier following and understanding of profitability;
3. Profit target at any given moment.

What if the market moves against the trade?

The market is unpredictable! Like in any other strategy, we need to understand the risks of each position. Therefore, we need to manage properly the risks involved and trade accordingly. There are no risk-free options strategies! The strategy has hedges that we can use to reduce its risk in case the market moves against it. This mainly is a non-directional income strategy that uses time decay (Theta management) and IV decrease to realize profits.

How often do you trade this strategy?

I open a new trade per month when conditions apply (Implied Volatility level and expectations). Usually, I am having 1 (max 2 trades) at the same time. This is one of the trades I use frequently in the investment fund. My core strategy in the Fund is the SPX Best.

How often do this trade needs adjustments?

This strategy is very stable and does not need too many adjustments. It will depend on SPY / QQQ moves but, on average, less than one per week. Nevertheless, when the expiration approaches (below 50 DTE) it may need more adjustments per week. Under these circumstances, I will decide if it is better to continue and capture attractive Theta or close the trade. It will depend on the market status.

If I have questions, how can I clarify them?

If you subscribe to the trading community, you can easily use the Discord channel to enter your questions. Me or other community members will help you. Remember that you are not alone if you subscribe to myoptionsedge.com!

Or you can use my personal email with your questions and I am happy to answer: pedro.branco@myoptionsedge.com

Is this a difficult strategy to learn and trade?

No, it is not. The strategy description document will tell you exactly how to trade this strategy. Although it is not a simple options strategy because it uses several legs, it is straightforward to implement.

After 3 or 4 trades, you should have learned its fundamentals and you can trade for your own if you have the confidence to do so. the goal is to maximize Theta and minimize Delta risk, according to market short-term expectations.

Can this strategy be applied to other assets?

I did not test it in individual stocks. I did not backtest it. But be aware that stocks tend to be more volatile than indexes, with earnings announcement events making them have big price swings.

It will do well with SPX if you want to trade on a higher scale, as I traded this with success for an institutional investor.