Origins of 0DTE options

What if you could collect covered call option premium hundreds of times a year instead of once a month — without giving up the upside on your core equity holdings? 📋 EPISODE SUMMARY In this enlightening episode of Insight Is Capital, host Pierre Daillie sits down with Nicolas Piquard, Chief Options Strategist at Hamilton ETFs — a 30-year derivatives veteran who has traded from both sides of the options desk, sell-side and buy-side. Together they unpack the seismic shift in options markets driven by zero days-to-expiry (0DTE) options, which now dominate daily S&P 500 options volume. Piquard demystifies why these instruments are not the speculative instruments many preconceive them to be, and explains how Hamilton's DayMAX™ suite of ETFs harnesses daily covered calls — written only against a modest, leveraged 25% VOO sleeve — to generate frequent, tax-efficient income while leaving the core equity holdings fully intact and participating in the upside. With nearly $750 million in DayMAX™ AUM and growing, the conversation explores how advisors can deploy these strategies as precision income tools in a traditional 60/40 portfolio without sacrificing long-term growth. ✅ 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. 0DTE options are a structural shift, not a fad. Exchanges gradually introduced weekly, then daily expirations over 20 years — today the market demands them for granular hedging and income generation, and volume keeps growing across asset classes. 2. The DMAX structure is engineered to preserve upside. By writing daily covered calls only against a 25% leveraged VOO sleeve — and leaving the 100% core champion dividend ETF completely uncovered — DMAX maximizes time-decay premium collection while keeping the bulk of equity appreciation intact. 3. Tax efficiency amplifies the yield advantage. Option premiums are taxed as capital gains, and intraday losses can offset gains — resulting in a distribution blend of dividends, capital gains, and return of capital that is materially more tax-efficient than ordinary income for most investors.

🕐 TIMESTAMPED CHAPTERS 00:00 — Introduction: How options markets have evolved

01:45 — Nicolas Piquard's 30-year career arc: sell-side to buy-side

05:22 — Hamilton ETFs growth: $7B in yield maximizers, $750M in DayMAX™

07:18 — The origin story of 0DTE options — from monthly to daily expirations

12:51 — How daily options differ from monthly covered calls

17:51 — The DayMAX™ structure explained: 100% champions ETF + 25% VOO + 0DTE overlay

46:05 — Partial vs. full call coverage: how DMAX preserves equity upside

52:07 — Portfolio construction: how advisors can use DMAX to close a yield gap

57:19 — Tax efficiency of covered call premiums: capital gains, ROC, and dividends

59:01 — Closing thoughts

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