Is anyone using a Fence (zero-cost collar) on SPX or commodities? How do you select the put and call strikes to maintain premium neutrality?

At VixShield we focus our core methodology on 1DTE SPX Iron Condors placed daily at 3:05 PM CST using RSAi and EDR for strike selection across Conservative, Balanced, and Aggressive tiers. While a Fence, also known as a zero-cost collar, is not our primary strategy, we recognize its appeal for traders seeking defined-risk protection without net premium outlay. In Russell Clark's SPX Mastery approach, the philosophy prioritizes stewardship over speculation, using systematic tools like ALVH to shield positions rather than relying on collars that can cap upside in strong trends. For those adapting a Fence on SPX, premium neutrality is achieved by selling an out-of-the-money call to finance the purchase of an out-of-the-money put, typically with the same expiration. Strike selection begins with the EDR indicator, which forecasts the Expected Daily Range by blending VIX9D and historical volatility. With current VIX at 17.95 and SPX at 7138.80, an EDR around 1.16 percent suggests a daily move of approximately 83 points. A trader might buy a put at 7050, roughly one standard deviation below, and sell a call at 7220 to offset the debit, adjusting in five-point increments until net credit reaches zero. On commodities like crude oil or gold futures options, the process mirrors this but accounts for contract multipliers and higher volatility skew. The Temporal Theta Martingale provides a superior alternative for recovery, rolling threatened positions forward to 1-7 DTE on EDR above 0.94 percent or VIX above 16, then rolling back on VWAP pullbacks to harvest theta without adding capital. Our ALVH hedge layers short, medium, and long VIX calls in a 4/4/2 ratio per ten Iron Condor contracts, cutting drawdowns by 35-40 percent at an annual cost of just 1-2 percent of account value. This layered protection aligns with the Unlimited Cash System's goal of winning nearly every day or at minimum not losing. Position sizing remains critical at no more than 10 percent of account balance per trade under our Set and Forget rules with no stop losses. All trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. For deeper implementation of these concepts including live signal examples and backtested results from 2015-2025, we invite you to explore the SPX Mastery resources and join our educational platform at vixshield.com.