How to hedge concentrated RSUs
Options-trading videos this week demonstrated hedging techniques that limit downside on concentrated tech equity positions — the examples frame basic option collars and spread trades as ways to protect gains without fully exiting a position. The approach is showcased as a practical tool for employees sitting on large RSU grants. (youtube.com)
Presidio Advisors published a step‑by‑step walkthrough this year showing how an option collar can be used to diversify a concentrated RSU position, using Apple (AAPL) as the worked example. (presidioadvisorsllc.com (presidioadvisorsllc.com)) The JPMorgan Hedged Equity Fund (JHEQX), managing about $21 billion, executed a put‑spread collar reset that buys an out‑of‑the‑money put, sells an OTM put, and sells an OTM call — a multi‑leg structure similar in mechanics to retail collars and spreads. (morningstar.com (morningstar.com)) Bloomberg reported on March 1, 2026 that demand for very short‑dated options (0DTE) and other hedging contracts has surged around big‑tech names, increasing market liquidity and creating more available strike/expiration combinations for employee‑level hedges. (bloomberg.com (bloomberg.com)) Retail tooling has scaled: OptionPilot/Ainvest advertises a “Collar/StockShield” tool that screens collars and protective‑put overlays across 4,200+ tickers to score option hedges for concentrated stock holders. (optionpilot.ainvest.com (optionpilot.ainvest.com)) Broker education and strategy guides emphasize the tradeoffs: Interactive Brokers’ hedging lesson outlines that a collar combines a covered call and a protective put to set a downside floor and upside cap, and TradingBlock/OptionAlpha note that “zero‑cost” collars use short calls to offset put premiums but incur commissions and roll/adjustment costs. (interactivebrokers.com (interactivebrokers.com)) (tradingblock.com (tradingblock.com)) A high‑profile precedent exists: Mark Cuban reportedly used collars to protect roughly $1.4 billion of Broadcast.com/Yahoo restricted stock during the dot‑com era, illustrating collars’ historical use by founders and executives to preserve concentrated gains. (marketbeat.com (marketbeat.com))
