SPX Iron Condor - High Loss Threshold - 52 DTE

This post looks at a standard (STD) one-lot iron condor on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), initiated at 52 days-to-expiration (DTE).  The results in this post were derived from approximately 3200 individual trades entered by the backtester.

For background on the setup for the backtests, as well as the nomenclature used in the charts and tables below, please see the introductory article for this series: Iron Condor Series - Higher Loss Thresholds

In the trade metrics tables, I have highlighted some of the metrics rows to indicate values that are in the upper half of the readings.  One of the metrics to note is the average P&L per day in percentage terms (Trade Details (%) - Avg. P&L / Day).  This is a measure of the P&L per day normalized to the maximum margin required for that trade run...it tells us the effectiveness of theta with respect to our margin requirement.

8 Delta Short Strikes

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(click to enlarge)

For the 52 DTE, 8 delta SPX iron condors, the top exit approaches indicated by the metrics were: 100%:50%, and 400%:50%.


12 Delta Short Strikes

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(click to enlarge)

For the 52 DTE, 12 delta SPX iron condors, the top exit approaches indicated by the metrics were: NA%:50%, 300%:75%, and 400%:50%.


16 Delta Short Strikes

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(click to enlarge)

For the 52 DTE, 16 delta SPX iron condors, the top exit approaches indicated by the metrics were: NA%:50%, 300%:50%, and 400%:50%.  Note: NA%:50% and 400%:50% have identical equity curves in the chart above.


20 Delta Short Strikes

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(click to enlarge)

For the 52 DTE, 20 delta SPX iron condors, the top exit approaches indicated by the metrics were: NA%:50%, and 400%:50%.

With the 52 DTE tests, the highest average P&L per day readings occurred with the 12 delta short strike variations.  In the next post we will look at these same deltas and exits, but on the SPX 66 DTE iron condor.


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