Risk Disclosure
Effective date: May 19, 2026
This is not financial advice
AnchorPoint is a research and educational tool. Nothing it shows you is personalized financial advice, a recommendation to buy or sell any security, or an evaluation of whether a particular trade is suitable for your specific financial situation. The Service is not operated by a registered investment advisor or broker-dealer. If you need advice, consult a licensed professional who knows your full financial picture.
What can happen when you trade long-dated call options
You can lose 100% of the premium paid
Every long call option you buy has a maximum loss equal to the entire premium you paid. If the underlying stock or ETF does not move enough, or does not move in the direction you expect, before expiration, your option may expire worthless and the premium is gone. Unlike buying stock, there is no “hold and wait for recovery” option at expiration.
Time decay (theta) works against you
Long call options lose value as time passes, even if the underlying stays exactly where it is. The rate of decay accelerates as expiration approaches. The Service’s exit signals attempt to flag this, but the underlying math is unforgiving: every day you hold a long option costs you something.
Implied volatility crush can hurt you even when you’re right on direction
Option prices depend on expected future volatility. If implied volatility collapses after you buy a call — even if the stock moves in your favor — your option can lose value. This happens routinely after earnings announcements, Fed meetings, or general market calm-downs.
Liquidity risk
Some option contracts have wide bid-ask spreads and low daily volume. The mid-price shown in our scoring may not be achievable when you try to actually sell. Execution costs (the difference between mid and the price you actually get) can be significant, especially on less popular strikes.
Leverage cuts both ways
A 0.50-delta call gives you roughly half the dollar movement of the underlying stock for a fraction of the capital. That’s leverage. Leverage amplifies both gains and losses on a percentage basis. A 10% move against the underlying can translate to a 50% loss on an at-the-money option in a short time frame.
Specific limitations of the algorithmic output
Scoring is a heuristic, not a forecast
The composite score shown on each contract is a weighted blend of factors (delta proximity to your target, liquidity, extrinsic value proportion, and budget efficiency). It does not predict whether the trade will be profitable. A “high score” contract is one that aligns with your stated parameters, not one we expect to make money.
The “recommendation” label is not a recommendation in the regulatory sense
The Service displays a label of HOLD, CONSIDER, or SELL on each tracked position. This label is a UI convenience for surfacing the output of a deterministic threshold check, not a recommendation as that term is used by the SEC, FINRA, or any regulatory body. It is not personalized advice, it does not consider your individual circumstances, and it is not produced by a registered investment advisor.
Treat the label as one input to your own decision, the same way you might treat a technical indicator on a chart. Do not interpret a SELL label as a directive to sell, a CONSIDER label as a forecast that conditions will worsen, or a HOLD label as an endorsement of the position.
Exit signals are reactive, not predictive
The HOLD / CONSIDER / SELL labels are based on current conditions hitting predefined thresholds (profit level, delta drift, days-to-expiration, IV change). They do not predict the future direction of the underlying. A “HOLD” label is not a guarantee the position will recover; a “SELL” label does not mean prices will fall further if you do not sell. The signal reflects what has already happened to the contract’s greeks and premium, not what will happen next.
The thresholds are defaults, not optimized values
The exit signal thresholds (such as “flag for sale at +50% profit” or “flag at 120 days to expiration”) are sensible defaults derived from common practice in long-dated options trading. They have not been backtested, optimized against historical performance, or validated against any specific market regime. They may be wrong for your situation, your trade, or current market conditions.
The data may be delayed or imperfect
Alpaca’s free data feed (“indicative”) provides delayed and approximate quotes. Greeks (delta, theta, IV) are computed by Alpaca’s pricing model and may differ from values computed by your broker or other sources. Open interest figures typically update once per day. Use the Service for research and evaluation; do not rely on it as your sole source of execution data.
Past behavior of options does not predict future behavior
An option that has performed well historically can fail completely going forward. Historical volatility, implied volatility ranges, and open interest patterns can change without notice. There is no such thing as a “safe” long option strategy.
What the Service cannot do
- It cannot place trades on your behalf
- It cannot withdraw funds from your account (paper or otherwise)
- It cannot know your tax situation, income, debts, or other holdings
- It cannot predict market direction, news events, or earnings outcomes
- It cannot evaluate whether options are appropriate for your overall portfolio
- It cannot replace the judgment of a licensed financial professional
Before you trade real money based on anything you see here
Honestly ask yourself:
- Can I afford to lose the entire premium without changing my financial life?
- Do I understand how options pricing actually works (delta, theta, IV)?
- Have I read the Options Disclosure Document (ODD) issued by the OCC?
- Have I successfully traded paper options long enough to evaluate my own decision-making?
- Do I have a licensed financial advisor I can consult for second opinions?
If the answer to any of these is no, do not place real trades based on the output of this Service.
Required reading from authoritative sources
Before trading options, you should read the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options document published by the Options Clearing Corporation. Your broker is required by law to provide it to you before approving you to trade options. It explains in detail the risks summarized above and many more.
Acknowledgment
By using AnchorPoint, you acknowledge that you have read this risk disclosure, understand the risks described, and accept full responsibility for any decisions you make based on the Service’s output.