Public recipe: cash-secured wheel sized to equity, 35 DTE / 2% OTM puts and calls, manage at 21 DTE. Simulated window 2024-10-18 to 2026-10-16.
Two paired wheel simulations on QQQ, one managed at 21 DTE. On this simulation the 21-Day Rule finished -2.8 pp behind holding to expiry — managing early hurt here.
| Metric | Standard (hold to expiry) | 21-Day Rule | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total return | 18.1% | 15.3% | -2.8 pp |
| Annualized return | 8.7% | 7.4% | -1.3 pp |
| Buy-and-hold return | 43.5% | 43.5% | 0.0 pp |
| Max drawdown (from peak equity) | 16.3% | 16.8% | +0.5 pp |
| Assignment rate | 12.5% | 13.3% | +0.8 pp |
| Call-away rate | 66.7% | 22.2% | -44.5 pp |
| Average cycle return | 1.1% | 0.5% | — |
| Sample cycles | 16 | 30 | — |
| History days | 728 | 728 | — |
| Entry fills | 19 | 48 | — |
| Entry fills priced from real option bars | 53% | 50% | — |
| 21-DTE buy-backs priced from real option bars | — | 52% | — |
Across the 37 published tickers, the 21-Day Rule finished ahead of holding to expiry on 18 and behind on 19. The QQQ total-return delta of -2.8 pp ranks 20th of 37 (1st is where managing early helped most); the median delta is -1.4 pp.
Without the rule, the standard arm returned 18.1% against 43.5% for buy-and-hold, so the plain wheel trailed holding the shares by 25.5 percentage points in this simulation.
Among its index and broad sector ETF peers DIA, IWM and SPY, the rule finished ahead of holding to expiry on 1 of 3; QQQ itself came in at -2.8 pp.
The separate 10 DTE / 2% OTM wheel snapshot for QQQ shows a put assignment rate of 16.7% and wheel P&L of $10,859 against $21,533 for buy-and-hold. That is a different recipe from the 35 DTE study on this page, so the two results are not additive.
| Metric | QQQ | Family median | Rank (highest first unless noted) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rule total-return delta | -2.8 pp | -1.4 pp | 20th of 37 |
| Rule drawdown delta | +0.5 pp | -1.3 pp | 29th of 37 (lowest first) |
| 21-Day total return | 15.3% | 14.4% | 18th of 37 |
| 21-Day annualized return | 7.4% | 7.0% | 18th of 37 |
| Standard total return | 18.1% | 14.7% | 15th of 37 |
| 21-Day max drawdown | 16.8% | 20.8% | 13th of 37 (lowest first) |
| 21-Day call-away rate | 22.2% | 39.1% | 36th of 37 |
| Standard annualized return | 8.7% | 7.1% | 15th of 37 |
| Buy-and-hold return | 43.5% | 38.6% | 18th of 37 |
| Standard max drawdown | 16.3% | 24.3% | 10th of 37 (lowest first) |
| Standard assignment rate | 12.5% | 30.8% | 36th of 37 |
| 21-Day assignment rate | 13.3% | 32.0% | 36th of 37 |
| 21-Day sample cycles | 30 | 27 | 10th of 37 |
| 21-Day average cycle return | 0.5% | 0.5% | 19th of 37 |
| Ticker | Standard return | 21-Day return | Rule delta | Buy-and-hold | Standard drawdown | 21-Day drawdown | Standard assignment | 21-Day assignment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQQ | 18.1% | 15.3% | -2.8 pp | 43.5% | 16.3% | 16.8% | 12.5% | 13.3% |
| DIA | 10.1% | 7.0% | -3.2 pp | 20.0% | 14.7% | 14.7% | 21.4% | 13.5% |
| IWM | 6.5% | 3.3% | -3.2 pp | 19.8% | 19.6% | 22.5% | 30.8% | 16.2% |
| SPY | 8.7% | 10.2% | +1.5 pp | 30.6% | 14.6% | 15.4% | 12.5% | 10.0% |
QQQ wheel snapshot — the other published study on this ticker.
Month-end P&L of holding 100 QQQ shares over the same window as this study, taken from the stored series of the 10 DTE wheel snapshot. The best month for holders was 2026-04 ($9,056) and the worst was 2026-07 (−$4,841).
| Month | Buy-and-hold P&L | Change in month | Running high | Below its peak | Worst fall so far |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10 | −$1,062 | — | $569 | $1,631 | $1,631 |
| 2024-11 | $1,527 | $2,589 | $1,967 | $440 | $1,757 |
| 2024-12 | $1,676 | $149 | $4,370 | $2,694 | $2,694 |
| 2025-01 | $2,782 | $1,106 | $4,370 | $1,588 | $3,309 |
| 2025-02 | $1,370 | −$1,412 | $4,505 | $3,135 | $3,925 |
| 2025-03 | −$2,555 | −$3,925 | $4,505 | $7,060 | $7,118 |
| 2025-04 | −$1,900 | $655 | $4,505 | $6,405 | $12,346 |
| 2025-05 | $2,464 | $4,364 | $4,505 | $2,041 | $12,346 |
| 2025-06 | $5,717 | $3,253 | $5,717 | $0 | $12,346 |
| 2025-07 | $7,054 | $1,337 | $7,367 | $313 | $12,346 |
| 2025-08 | $7,593 | $539 | $8,587 | $994 | $12,346 |
| 2025-09 | $10,590 | $2,997 | $10,773 | $183 | $12,346 |
| 2025-10 | $13,460 | $2,870 | $14,130 | $670 | $12,346 |
| 2025-11 | $12,478 | −$982 | $14,130 | $1,652 | $12,346 |
| 2025-12 | $11,984 | −$494 | $14,130 | $2,146 | $12,346 |
| 2026-01 | $12,740 | $756 | $14,130 | $1,390 | $12,346 |
| 2026-02 | $11,282 | −$1,458 | $14,130 | $2,848 | $12,346 |
| 2026-03 | $8,271 | −$3,011 | $14,130 | $5,859 | $12,346 |
| 2026-04 | $17,327 | $9,056 | $17,327 | $0 | $12,346 |
| 2026-05 | $24,384 | $7,057 | $24,384 | $0 | $12,346 |
| 2026-06 | $24,193 | −$191 | $25,169 | $976 | $12,346 |
| 2026-07 | $19,352 | −$4,841 | $25,169 | $5,817 | $12,346 |
| 2026-08 | $22,229 | $2,877 | $25,169 | $2,940 | $12,346 |
| 2026-09 | $24,530 | $2,301 | $25,299 | $769 | $12,346 |
| 2026-10 | $21,533 | −$2,997 | $26,519 | $4,986 | $12,346 |
One ticker and one window prove nothing general; the rule arm sometimes cannot exit at 21 DTE
Period 2024-10-18 to 2026-10-16, refreshed 2026-10-18.
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