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Investing involves risk. There is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities.
Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Certain requirements must be met to trade options. Before engaging in the purchase or sale of options, investors should understand the nature of and extent of their rights and obligations and be aware of the risks involved in investing with options. Please read the options disclosure document titled "Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (PDF)" before considering any option transaction. You may also call the Investment Center at 877.653.4732 for a copy. A separate client agreement is needed. Multi-leg option orders are charged one base commission per order, plus a per-contract charge.
The maximum loss, gain and breakeven of any options strategy only remains as defined so long as the strategy contains all original positions. Trading, rolling, assignment, or exercise of any portion of the strategy will result in a new maximum loss, gain and breakeven calculation, which will be materially different from the calculation when the strategy remains intact with all of the contemplated legs or positions. This is applicable to all options strategies inclusive of long options, short options and spreads. To learn more about Merrill's uncovered option handling practices, view
Naked Option Stress Analysis (NOSA) (PDF).
Early assignment risk is always present for option writers (specific to American-style options only). Early assignment risk may be amplified in the event a call writer is short an option during the period the underlying security has an ex-dividend date. This is referred to as dividend risk.
Long options are exercised and short options are assigned. Note that American-style options can be assigned/exercised at any time through the day of expiration without prior notice. Options can be assigned/exercised after market close on expiration day. View specific
Merrill Option Exercise & Assignment Practices (PDF).
Supporting documentation for any claims, comparison, recommendations, statistics, or other technical data, will be supplied upon request.
Before investing consider carefully the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the fund, including management fees, other expenses and special risks. This and other information may be found in each fund's prospectus or summary prospectus, if available. Always read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before you invest or send money. Prospectuses can be obtained by contacting us.
Brad Zucker, Daniel Prince, and Kristy Akullian are employed by BlackRock. BlackRock and Merrill are not legally affiliated and are independent entities.
Certain information ©2025 BlackRock, Inc. and its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Some of the material is provided by a third party that is not affiliated with Merrill or any of its affiliates and is for information and educational purposes only. The opinions and views expressed are those of the speaker, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of Merrill or any of its affiliates. The third parties involved are not employed by Merrill but receive compensation from Merrill for their services. All opinions are subject to change due to market conditions and fluctuations.
This material does not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situations or needs and is not intended as a recommendation, offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security, financial instrument, or strategy. Before acting on any recommendation in this material, you should consider whether it is in your best interest based on your particular circumstances and, if necessary, seek professional advice. Since economic and market conditions change frequently, there can be no assurance that the trends described here will continue or that the forecasts will come to pass. The information presented on this webcast is for discussion purposes only and is not intended to serve as a recommendation or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any type of security. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Merrill, its affiliates, and financial advisors do not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. You should consult your legal and/or tax advisors before making any financial decisions.
Supporting documentation for any claims, comparisons, recommendations, statistics or other technical data will be furnished on request.
The logos listed are trademarks of their respective owners and are used for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as an endorsement by, sponsorship by, or affiliation with Merrill.
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