Married Put

A married put is the name given to an options trading strategy where an investor, holding a long position in a stock, purchases an at-the-money put option on the same stock to protect against depreciation in the stock's price. The benefit is that the investor can lose a small but limited amount of money on the stock in the worst scenario, yet still participates in any gains from price appreciation. The downside is that the put option costs a premium and it is usually significant.