Tag: trading the VIX
What’s Up With Volatility?
With just a couple weeks to go before the end of 2014, volatility has returned to the financial markets. We couldn’t quite make it through the rest of the year without one more bout of investor fear. The VIX has climbed above 20 for only the third time this year. And while that’s not a […]
Is A Selloff Coming?
After last week’s relatively steep selloff in equities, investors are becoming concerned a larger pullback is in the works. After all, it’s only natural when the selling starts to assume more is on the way. But what are the options markets telling us? Keep in mind, the smart money often likes to use options rather […]
VXX Stock – Everything You Need To Know (Part 1)
With the explosion in popularity of volatility products, both for options traders and investors in general, it’s a good idea to have a solid understanding of what’s out there. As you may realize, the single most important volatility benchmark is the VIX (CBOE’s S&P 500 volatility index). However, the VIX itself isn’t tradable. That’s where […]
Watch Out For September
Recently, I wrote an article discussing an interesting trade in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (EEM) options. The trade was meaningful because it was a significant bet or hedge on the entire emerging markets asset class. This week, there’s once again been an intriguing trade worth discussing. This massive trade could have broader implications on the […]
What’s This Massive VIX Options Trade Telling Us?
If you’ve been reading my articles for any length of time, you know I often like to point out unusual options trades. Typically, once a week I’ll cover a couple trades which are either much bigger than normal or on stocks with historically low activity. However, sometimes I’ll come across a really interesting trade worth […]
The Secret To Trading The VIX
Everyone thinks professional traders have these great secrets to trading – silver bullets guaranteeing profits. It turns out there’s really nothing secret about being a good trader. Discipline, timing, research – these are things anyone can do with time and effort. But there’s at least one exception to the rule, the VIX. Professional traders don’t […]