Crude has been hammered pretty hard in recent weeks. My instincts tend, like yours probably do, toward being a net seller of options when implied volatility has become historically expensive. But it’s also a good idea to respect the current trend, as I mention here:
While capturing historically high implied volatility is often a profitable approach, a price trend this strong should be respected, so any short volatility trade should either be long some gamma or should have…
Volatility Tracker for the Week of January 10, 2010
The continuing rally in equities has resulted in some remarkable volatility readings. 21-day realized volatility in the S&P 500 closed below 10% on Friday [5], and the spread between 21-day realized volatility and spot implied volatility 30 (calendar) days ago is wider than at any time in 2009.[6] While option implied volatility regularly tends to run higher than the realized volatility in the underlying, current readings are extreme. Since equity…
Volatility Tracker for the week of November 8, 2009
I wondered last week whether we would see a return to the reflation rally or were entering a new regime dominated by mean reversion. The price action last week counts in favor of both, as we reverted to the closing highs of the prior week; I expect a more definitive answer by November options expiration.
The sale of out of the money equity index puts and/or put spreads I suggested last…
Volatility Tracker for the week of October 26, 2009
As I’ve noted on many occasions here, the relationship between spot VIX and longer-dated VIX estimates has not “worked” as a directional indicator for at least several months. [7,8] This looks like a genuine puzzle: the premium VIX futures traders are willing to pay and/or requiring in order to sell is too steep and has been too persistent to be dismissed as a phenomenon typical of the “wall of worry” that…
Volatility Tracker for the week of September 28, 2009
The spread between the volatility realized in the S&P 500 over the last 30 calendar days and the volatility implied in S&P 500 options 30 calendar days ago is about the widest that it has been this year, with the exception of a similar instance in early August. [5,6] That means stocks haven’t been nearly as volatile as index option prices have assumed they would be. Put another way, it has…
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
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