Monthly Covered Call Commentary: November 2025

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November 2025 Covered Call Report – Key Takeaways

The Global X Research Team is pleased to announce the release of its Monthly Covered Call Report, featuring the premium and distribution values attained by its roster of covered call funds in October of 2025. The key takeaways below, as well as those highlighted within the report, recap some of the most pivotal undertakings to have taken place across the markets during the October roll period. They outline their influence over the option pricing environment and help substantiate changing investor sentiments as characterized by specific market indicators.

View the full report.

Discounting a brief stint above the 20 level in early August, which reflected investor concerns over a non-farm payrolls report, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) had been trading in largely a rangebound fashion in the late summer months and into early fall. The fear gauge broke out of this holding pattern on October 10th, however, after news was released from the White House that suggested the U.S. was threatening to institute a new 100% tariff on Chinese imports should their ongoing trade negotiations fail to show signs of progress. The announcement sent the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 indices down 3.49% and 2.70% in value, respectively, and it added a boost to an existing upward trend for the VIX that would see it surpass the 25 level on October 16th, the day prior to the Global X Covered Call Suite’s monthly options expiration.^1,2

Major large- and small-cap U.S. indices kicked off the Global X Covered Call ETF suite’s roll period, which spanned from September 19th, 2025 to October 17th, 2025, on the ascent. However, the term concluded with the Nasdaq-100 leading the pack, recording a total return of only 82 basis points.³ The soft growth environment was supportive of call option writing, with many of the premiums generated by the Global X ETFs that sell monthly call options on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000, and S&P 500 proving more generous than the returns of the underlying indices themselves. The outcome was reflected in both Global X’s roster of 100% covered call products, as well as its Covered Call & Growth ETFs that write call options at a value equivalent to half their notional portfolio on the major domestic indices.

A byproduct of the volatility spike that took place near the end of the roll period was a sharp rise in the value of call option premiums that expire November 21st. It led all of the Global X Covered Call ETFs that utilize major equity indexes as their reference assets to generate their second-highest premium values in the last 2+ years.  The single period that featured better premiums was April of 2025, when liberation day and ensuing tariff negotiations worked together to vault the VIX up to the 30 level on the option expiration date, April 17th.

Bloomberg L.P. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 total returns on October 10^th, 2025.

Bloomberg L.P. Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) on October 16^th, 2025.

Bloomberg L.P. Nasdaq 100 total returns from October 17^th, 2025 to November 21^st, 2025.

The first quarter was marred by reduced expectations for Fed rate cuts, higher Japanese government bond yields, and the Iran war.

The first quarter was marred by reduced expectations for Fed rate cuts, higher Japanese government bond yields, and the Iran war.

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Our MLP Quarterly Report covers recent developments driving the midstream oil & gas market and key metrics related to Master Limited Partnerships.