Long Call Vs Bull Call Spread Options Trading Strategy Comparison

Compare Long Call and Bull Call Spread options trading strategies. Find similarities and differences between Long Call and Bull Call Spread strategies. Find the best options trading strategy for your trading needs.

Long Call Vs Bull Call Spread

	Long Call	Bull Call Spread


About Strategy	A Long Call Option trading strategy is one of the basic strategies. In this strategy, a trader is Bullish in his market view and expects the market to rise in near future. The strategy involves taking a single position of buying a Call Option (either ITM, ATM or OTM). This strategy has limited risk (max loss is premium paid) and unlimited profit potential. When the trader goes long on call, the trader buys a Call Option and later sells it to earn profits if the price of the underlying asset goes up. When the trader buys a call, he pays the option premium in exchange for the right (but not the obligation) to buy share or index at a fixed price by a certain expiry date. This premium is the only amount at-the-risk for trader in case the mark... Read More	A Bull Call Spread (or Bull Call Debit Spread) strategy is meant for investors who are moderately bullish of the market and are expecting mild rise in the price of underlying. The strategy involves taking two positions of buying a Call Option and selling of a Call Option. The risk and reward in this strategy is limited. A Bull Call Spread strategy involves Buy ITM Call Option and Sell OTM Call Option.For example, if you are of the view that NIFTY will rise moderately in near future then you can Buy NIFTY Call Option at ITM and Sell Nifty Call Option at OTM. You will earn massively when both of your Options are exercised and incur huge losses when both Options are not exercised.
Market View	Bullish	Bullish
Strategy Level	Beginners	Beginners
Options Type	Call	Call
Number of Positions	1	2
Risk Profile	Limited	Limited
Reward Profile	Unlimited	Limited
Breakeven Point	Strike Price + Premium	Strike price of purchased call + net premium paid

When and how to use Long Call and Bull Call Spread?

	Long Call	Bull Call Spread
When to use?	A long call Option strategy works well when you expect the underlying instrument to move positively in the recent future. If you expect XYZ company to do well in near future then you can buy Call Options of the company. You will earn the profit if the price of the company shares closes above the Strike Price on the expiry date. However, if underlying shares don't do well and move downwards on expiry date you will incur losses (i.e. lose premium paid).	A Bull Call Spread strategy works well when you're Bullish of the market but expect the underlying to gain mildly in near future.
Market View	Bullish When you're expecting a rise in the price of the underlying and increase in volatility.	Bullish When you are expecting a moderate rise in the price of the underlying.
Action	Buy Call Option A long call strategy involves buying a call option only. So if you expect Reliance to do well in near future then you can buy Call Options of Reliance. You will earn a profit if the price of Reliance shares closes above the Strike price on the expiry date. However, if Reliance shares don't move up within the expiry date you will incur losses.	Buy ITM Call Option Sell OTM Call Option A Bull Call Spread strategy involves Buy ITM Call Option + Sell OTM Call Option. For example, if you are of the view that Nifty will rise moderately in near future then you can Buy NIFTY Call Option at ITM and Sell NIFTY 50 Call Option at OTM. You will earn massively when both of your Options are exercised and incur huge losses when both Options are not exercised.
Breakeven Point	Strike Price + Premium The break-even point for Long Call strategy is the sum of the strike price and premium paid. Traders earn profits if the price of the underlying asset moves above the break-even point. Traders loose premium if the price of the underlying asset falls below the break-even point.	Strike price of purchased call + net premium paid

Compare Risks and Rewards (Long Call Vs Bull Call Spread)

	Long Call	Bull Call Spread
Risks	Limited The risk is limited to the premium paid for the call option irrespective of the price of the underlying on the expiration date. Max Loss = Premium Paid	Limited The trade will result in a loss if the price of the underlying decreases at expiration. The maximum loss is limited to net premium paid. Max Loss = Net Premium Paid Max Loss happens when the strike price of Call is less than or equal to price of the underlying.
Rewards	Unlimited There is no limit to maximum profit attainable in the long call option strategy. The trade gets profitable when price of the underlying is greater than strike price plus premium. Profit = Price of Underlying - (Strike Price + Premium Paid)	Limited Limited To The Difference Between Two Strike Prices Minus Net Premium Maximum profit happens when the price of the underlying rises above strike price of two Calls. The profit is limited to the difference between two strike prices minus net premium paid. Max Profit = (Strike Price of Call 1 - Strike Price of Call 2) - Net Premium Paid
Maximum Profit Scenario	Underlying closes above the strike price on expiry.	Both options exercised
Maximum Loss Scenario	Underlying closes below the strike price on expiry.	Both options unexercised

Pros & Cons or Long Call and Bull Call Spread

	Long Call	Bull Call Spread
Advantages	Buying a Call Option instead of the underlying allows you to gain more profits by investing less and limiting your losses to minimum.	Instead of straightaway buying a Call Option, this strategy allows you to reduce cost and risk of your investments.
Disadvantage	Call options have a limited lifespan. So, in case the price of your underlying stock is not higher than the strike price before the expiry date, the call option will expire worthlessly and you will lose the premium paid.	Profit potential is limited.
Simillar Strategies	Protective Put, Covered Put/Married Put, Bull Call Spread	Collar, Bull Put Spread

1 Comments

1. Justin Gilead

| Link|Aug 16, 2022 8:47:47 PMReply

You partially get it wrong! The max loss will be the equivalent of the call premium paid for a single call position, indeed ; for a synthetic call options, it will be likened to the call options premium that you actually haven't paid as the call position has just been replicated along with the help of a long put and a long underlying though. For instance, if you purchase an ITM put, in addition to the long underlying, then the overall cost will be quite high, but the max risk entailed in the position will be the equivalent of the cheap OTM call options (only time value) that stands on the other side and on the same strike. In short, you may pay more to risk less with a synthetic options ; it definitely does the trick for hedging purposes then.

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