IWM
iShares Russell 2000 ETF
stock NYSE ETF

If the images scale horribly in new reddit, replace www with old in the URL. So domain is old.reddit.com
Credit to:
* somermike on marketable securities from GameStop SEC filings [5/3/2026 post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1t2l9y2/correlation_is_not_causation_but_ebay/)
* greencandlevandal on total return swaps from Avis SEC filings [4/9/2026 post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1sh2x35/guys_there_is_something_happening_in_the_market/)
My recent new swaps tracking posts:
* 5/9/2026 - [Continued look at ebay swaps, XRT fail to deliver delayed settlement, and XRT, GME and 15 other new swaps tracking - 5/9/2026 update](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1t9de8b/continued_look_at_ebay_swaps_xrt_fail_to_deliver/)
* [5/2/2026](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1t2tiak/a_look_at_ebay_swaps_xrt_fail_to_deliver_delayed/)
* 4/25/2026 - [Upcoming GME swap expirations, XRT fail to deliver delayed settlement, and XRT, GME and 14 other new swaps tracking - 4/25/2026 update](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1swipry/upcoming_gme_swap_expirations_xrt_fail_to_deliver/)
Last 2 swaps activity breakdown posts:
* 9/27/2025 - [GME, XRT, and 25 other swaps activity breakdown. Added 4 stocks.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1nsypy2/gme_xrt_and_25_other_swaps_activity_breakdown/)
* [9/20/2025](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1nn3re9/gme_xrt_and_21_other_swaps_activity_breakdown/)
What are swaps, big picture on ETFs, FTDs, settlement can kicking, ETF and FTD juggling, etc:
* LoPiano swap, ETF, FTD, options discussion: [5/9/2026](https://www.youtube.com/live/GMuEIU5fQQA)
* TheGameStopsNow [2/24/2026 post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1re1ps2/1_the_failure_accommodation_waterfall_where_your/)
* VariousScenes [12/23/2025 post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1pu38lr/cycles_theory_revisiting_the_puzzle/)
* Counterspell_This [12/9/2025 post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1pileus/total_return_swaps_trs_deep_dive_dd_and_rceos/)
* samgungraven describing [swaps](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1cy1xv4/great_explanation_on_how_swaps_work_and_current/)
* Arcanis_Ender 12/8/2025 comment: Swaps allow the parties to effectively hide their positions from the public. Bullet swaps were famously used by Bill Hwang to blow up his family office Archegos Capital via margin call as well as the counterparty involved--Credit Suisse. Those bags passed on to UBS who was forced by their government to absorb them and their toxic liabilities. The swiss government opted to HIDE (seal) the swap data regarding Credit Suisse collapse for 50 years as well. Swaps are very hard to trace by their nature, but they allow parties to have hidden short positions from their structure without actively impacting the Short Interest % of a stock. This keeps the cost to borrow low, just like when a market maker abuses their creation/redemption privileges on an ETF to artificially inflate supply of a stock that would otherwise have low liquidity.
* HashtagYoMamma [11/14/2025 post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1owqv0b/reminder_youre_being_gaslit_the_price_makes_no/)
* Long-Setting [11/1/2025 post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1olv8ox/memorandum_for_the_record_due_diligence_report_on/) - Snippet: A total return swap (TRS) is a derivative contract where one party (e.g., a hedge fund) receives the total economic performance (gains/losses, dividends) of a reference asset (e.g., $GME shares) from a counterparty (e.g., a bank), in exchange for periodic payments based on a fixed/variable rate. Unlike direct short sales, TRS allow synthetic exposure without borrowing shares, evading "locate" requirements and enabling indefinite position recycling.
* LoPiano 9/23/2025 on Newton's yellow/pink/red swap theory, see 15:50 mark: [youtube video](https://youtu.be/Ak-Xz8WpJ-A)
Swaps data source:
* From the DTCC website. Example (change the date portion to retrieve other dates going back up to 2 years): [https://pddata.dtcc.com/ppd/api/report/cumulative/sec/SEC\_CUMULATIVE\_EQUITIES\_2025\_08\_30.zip](https://pddata.dtcc.com/ppd/api/report/cumulative/sec/SEC_CUMULATIVE_EQUITIES_2025_08_30.zip)
* Alternatively via Amazon domain, example: [https://kgc0418-tdw-data-0.s3.amazonaws.com/sec/eod/SEC\_CUMULATIVE\_EQUITIES\_2025\_08\_31.zip](https://kgc0418-tdw-data-0.s3.amazonaws.com/sec/eod/SEC_CUMULATIVE_EQUITIES_2025_08_31.zip)
* XRT's ISIN and RIC: US78464A7147 and XRT.P
* GME: US36467W1099 and GME.N
* For brevity, tracking: CHWY, EBAY, GEF, IEP, MSTR, NTRS, PSKY, RCL, SIRI, U, VSCO, WBD, IBIT, IJH, ITOT, IWB, IWD, IWM, IWR, IWS, MDY, VB, VBR, VXF
Credit to many others wading through the swaps data. View their profile's posts and comments for helpful information!
* WhoLovesAvacados - see their profile's posts
* GMEPieMan via F-uPayMe - [8/20/2025 post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1nt385a/another_glitch_in_the_system/)
* TheUltimator5 - [2/21/2025 post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1iv5kbp/the_gme_bottom_finder_has_been_reuploaded_to_tv/)
* WhatCanIMakeToday - [3/13/2025 GME Swaps Expirations By Date](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1jaimi8/gme_swaps_expirations_by_date/)
* alwayssadbuttruthful - [1/19/2025 4x posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/1i516sl/gamestopswapdd_part_4201_cfd_summations/)
* theorico
* IullotronBudC1_3

That's why you go 1-3x Russell 2000 with IWM/UWM/TNA to cover you bases on TQQQ/QQQ, UPRO/SSO, or whatever megacaps you have.

Daily ATM IV trends for IWM/QQQ

In 2020 I had some carry positions, covered strangles in stuff like IWM that I managed into the downmove. for speculative trading mostly directional. volatility trading during periods like that are challenging and not where I prefer to be short vol. I started with short index exposure through futures to initially hedge then lean into the move and used my standard sector rotation approach but to the downside.
I'm not a premium seller - I'm a whatever trader. i think it's a massive mistake for a trader to lock them into any box. there's little benefit and there are different structure that fit well in different markets.

Citadel securities has a video on their YouTube recently have a guy talking about their trading algorithms or some shit like that and he talked about how each trade execute and under 40 µs aka microseconds and that’s broken down into multiple components of trade engine, risk, something else etc so like a few core actions take up those 40 µs per transaction. And they say that if they were 10 µs slower, the edge would not be there.
I think about it like this each trend line a market maker exists and that’s the edge they are fighting over. So if you took any timeframe like 5 minutes , the 20 EMA, 50 EMA, 100 EMA for example, might all be different market makers. The faster, the timeframe harder and more competitive than the environment is. No one knows the specifics, but these marketmakers the biggest ones like James Street and citadel and jump trading and the biggest banks all have their own territories inside this very large ecosystem. And they are obviously incredibly good at it.
I heard that the most profitable trade on Wall Street is selling short dated puts by sharpe ratio. I believe CBOE posted this research. Someone is doing that on SPY/QQQ/IWM

So I have been doing a bunch of research over the past 3 to 4 months and trading some paper accounts. I also have an investment account holding long-term blue chips and ETFs, along with a Roth IRA and a Roth 401k setup through work.
My goal is not to quit my job and do it full time. I just want to add a little spice to my income and collect some monthly profit where I can. Additionally, I just find it very fun and interesting.
Having said all that, I traded real money last week on some 5 ish DTE broken wing butterfly options. I went 4/4 which I know is a dangerous place to be cause it won't always be the case. I shifted the body of the option (the 2 short put/calls) really far OTM in order to reduce the RR and give me a higher probability of hitting.
I want to keep trading these here and there but my main source I want to be LEAPS/ZEBRA/PMCC setups on stocks like QQQ, SPY, IWM, etc. How realistic is this setup for making small amounts of weekly money? I also can't seem to understand why someone would pick a LEAP call for this over a ZEBRA? I feel like it's a no brainer in the fact that the ZEBRA is a higher delta which nets higher income if the stock climbs, allowing you to sell the CCs closer to the trading price for a higher credit/premium. I may be missing something which Is why I am here.
Thank you to anyone who has some input to give. I'm 31 years old and own a house with a family so not looking for a get rich quick scheme....just want to maybe retire a touch earlier than 65 if I'm lucky.

SPY, QQQ, IWM. Boring but liquid wins long term.

Weekend tape closed risk-on but the news flow is moving the other way. Worth thinking through before Monday.
The closes:
* SPY +0.83% to $737.62
* QQQ +2.34% to $711.23 (leading)
* IWM +0.68% to $284.17
* DIA basically flat at $496.13
Then the headline mix this weekend: U.S. sanctions hitting companies aiding Iran, Bahraini arrests linked to the IRGC, reports of Gulf clashes, China energy imports dropped in April. The market is positioned offensive while the news flow is defensive. That is not how risk-on tape usually looks.
Sector rotation backs the tension. Leading on 30-day momentum: Healthcare Facilities, Semiconductors, Healthcare Distributors, Industrial Conglomerates. Weakening hard: Oil & Gas Exploration, Fertilizers, Coal, Integrated Oil & Gas, Food Retail. That's defensive sectors plus tech leading, not a clean risk-on rotation.
Theme heat skews tech-heavy: Battery & Storage, Semis & AI Chips, Cybersecurity, Bitcoin Miners, Space & Satellites.
Names I'm watching for Monday: MDB (19/20 on my scoring framework), ARMP (18/20, recently up 14.3%), UONE (18/20, up 34.1%), ELPW (up 60.3% on a 17/20). One earnings report this weekend from ALLR.
The way I'm reading it: the gap between price action and headline risk is the thing to watch into Monday open. Either the news catches up to the tape and we get a gap down, or the tape is right and the headlines are noise. Either way, this isn't a chase setup. Position size for either resolution.
What's everyone watching for Monday? Anyone else seeing this tape vs headlines disconnect?

10 million id definitely have different accounts with different blocks for different purposes.
2 million in a long term growth focused account. Mainly etf like SPY, VTI, with some SMH, QQQ, IWM, XLF, XBI, XLV, ITA, IYT, IGV. I’d sell far OTM covered calls hoping they expire worthless and treating it like another dividend.
2 million in a income based account with Covered calls ETFs that generate a healthy dividend every month. SPYI, XYLD.
2 million in real estate
2 million in bonds, treasury, international and China based ETF
1 million in single blue chip stocks.
Half million cash used to buy Leveraged ETF during pull backs that have RSI at weekly oversold conditions. SOXL, TQQQ , TNA, SPXL.
Half million to gamble with call or put options.

Stacking IWM Puts on the historical fact everything 🥭 ventures into ends in bankruptcy. 
There's even a new pandemic in this sequel!

Oh most definitely, the OI on puts between SPY, IWM, and MAG7 compared to share price and OI calls isnt jiving and is illogical on how the markets are "supposed" to work currently.one or more "big money" institutions are gonna lose big time in the near future. I dont follow futes that much but between silvers run in December and oils current run, I cant see this as retail investors in big trouble.

I do a mix of ETF and single names. On the ETF side I stick with SPY/QQQ/IWM/GLD/SLV (SLV was a huge Vol play this year). On the single name side, I take a look at all US equities with market cap > $1B, sift out any shady names that I don't recognize, remove any name with less than 50% IV, and then analyze the difference between the IV and the Historical Vol. The names with the biggest differences is what I run my plays on.
Here's a short list of names that I've been running Short Vol strategies on: ASTS, INTC, RKLB, SNOW, ORCL, MSTR, TTD, COIN, APP, AMD, DECK, CVNA, RDDT, HOOD, LULU, CRM, AVGO, NOW, PLTR.

I need an irrational $1 - $2 pump on IWM stat. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

IWM is dog shit

Poor IWM. Just a bastard child.

here’s a secret: IWM is about to crash hard

Wow no one cares about RUT / IWM

SPY, QQQ, IWM are the classic trio for good reason, liquid enough to not get wrecked on fills. XSP is worth adding if you want cash-settled without the assignment risk. some traders on markets.xyz are running short vol on indices and posting their actual positions with PnL if you want to see what's live.

Looks like IWM is curious what's at the Earth's core. It's definitely not in agreement with SPY.

Why does IWM look so bullish?
https://preview.redd.it/5y7lscy9iwzg1.png?width=583&format=png&auto=webp&s=7642ab4af613d32b6b76d194571809a619399631