# Wheel: assignment and the stock ledger

**OPT-06b · Core Options · Core**

**Lesson question:** What changes when the short put becomes shares?

Original fictional examples; educational writing, not live market data, orders or production approval.

## By the end

- Explain the mechanism in the lesson question.
- Reproduce the worked comparison and recognize its failure case.

**Prerequisites:** OPT-02c, OPT-07a

Assignment changes the position from a short option into a shareholding and a cash payment. It does not forgive the underlying loss or create a bargain by definition. Keep the economic ledger visible so premium and share risk are assessed together.

## Understand the mechanism

The put's contractual strike remains 95 regardless of the market quote. Economic entry after premium can be described as 93 before costs, but that is not tax advice and does not make 93 a market support level. The original business thesis must still hold.

## Walk through the process

Record cash paid, shares received, current marked value and accumulated option cash. Reassess concentration and whether the new stock position is intentional. Do not start selling calls mechanically before evaluating the changed company and market facts.

## A worked example

Continue the fictional ledger: cash 10,200 becomes 700 after buying 100 shares at 95. If the shares now trade 90, stock value is 9,000 and total marked wealth is 9,700. Relative to initial 10,000, the combined result is −300 before costs. The 200 premium did not make the assignment profitable.

## Graph: Wheel: assignment and the stock ledger—worked comparison

**Horizontal:** Ledger stage / settlement case  
**Vertical:** USD; see stage definitions

Fictional data from the written example. The chart organizes the comparison; its shape is not a forecast.

Complete numerical data are embedded in `scripts/options-strategies/OPT-06b.js` and displayed as an accessible table in the HTML lesson.

## What would invalidate the reading?

Ignoring share mark-to-market while reporting only premiums turns a losing program into a misleading income story. Funding failure can cause liquidation before the planned next phase.

## Check your understanding

### What is total marked wealth with 700 cash and 100 shares at 90?

**Answer:** 9,700.

**Why:** Compare total wealth with the original 10,000, not only the premium cash.

### What is the critical failure to avoid?

**Answer:** Ignoring share mark-to-market while reporting only premiums turns a losing program into a misleading income story. Funding failure can cause liquidation before the planned next phase.

**Why:** Explain this risk before treating the example as a decision rule. A correct calculation does not guarantee a favorable market outcome. **Critical risk check.**

## Takeaway

Return to the question: What changes when the short put becomes shares? State the observed facts, the assumptions and the failure condition separately.

## References and provenance

The cited references support definitions and conventions. The teaching prose, tickets and numerical scenarios are original; they are not attributed as historical market observations.

- [OCC Options Disclosure Document](https://www.theocc.com/company-information/documents-and-archives/options-disclosure-document)

- [OIC Strategy Reference](https://www.optionseducation.org/strategies/all-strategies-en)