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What Is a Cash-Secured Put?
The cash-secured put is the covered call’s mirror: get paid to be willing to buy a stock lower.
NoVo Options Trading · 2026
A cash-secured put is selling a put while holding enough cash to buy the stock if assigned — collecting premium and potentially buying the stock at a discount. It’s the mirror of the covered call.
How it works
You sell a put below the current price and set aside the cash to buy 100 shares at that strike if assigned. You collect the premium immediately. If the stock stays above the strike, the put expires worthless and you keep the premium. If it falls below, you buy the shares at the strike (effectively at a discount, minus the premium collected) — a price you were happy to pay.
Why it's used
It generates income and can get you into a stock at a lower effective price — a favorite of investors who want to own a stock but only at a discount. It’s “cash-secured” because you have the cash to cover assignment (unlike a naked put), so the risk is defined (down to zero, but backed by cash you were willing to deploy).
A cash-secured put gets you paid to wait to buy lower: keep the premium if the stock holds, or buy it at a discount if it drops. Income while you wait.
The takeaway
A cash-secured put is a conservative income/entry strategy for investors wanting to buy a stock at a discount — defined risk (cash-backed), capped by the strike. It’s a long-term-investor tool, not 0DTE scalping. Paired with a covered call, it forms “the wheel.” NoVo trades directional options instead.
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NoVo is a software tool for market analysis and for executing trades you initiate, not financial advice. This article is general education, not investment advice. Options trading involves substantial risk of loss, up to and including your entire capital. NoVo makes no guarantee of profit, win rate, or performance, and past results do not predict future outcomes. You are responsible for your own broker account, configuration, and trading decisions.