SPXH—Hedging the S&P 500 For Free?

Update TRSK & SPXH were shutdown in March 2018, probably because they never gained enough assets to be profitable for the issuer.  In general, these fund performed as expected.  They likely would have really done well in a major correction or bear market but that didn’t happen during their lifetimes.  Their main weakness is that they tended to lose value when volatility makes sudden shifts. …

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Earn 2%-3% Per Week Trading Options? The Catch…

Update Trade Options Weekly no longer appears to be around, but there are people still providing the same basic strategy (e.g, 5Percent{PerWeek.com).   Be aware these are high risk strategies Original Post If you do any amount of browsing on stocks and options you’ve seen ads for services that tout weekly percentage gains of several percent.  I’ve never really been tempted to investigate these—I reflexively …

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Calculating VIXMO—the Easy Part

Update:  On October 6th, 2014 the CBOE changed the calculation method for the VIX to include SPX weekly options,  the old VIX calculation is still being reported using the VIXMO  (VIX Month Only) ticker.  The new calculation uses the VIX ticker.  For more on the new calculation see “Calculating the New VIX“. The movements of the CBOE’s VIX® are often confusing.  It usually moves the opposite …

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A Tale of Two Bulls

  The prices of SPY (S&P 500) starting in March of 2003 and of 2009 have tracked each other surprisingly well over a 6 year period.   The current market has managed higher highs each year, but then that advantage has evaporated by the Christmas holidays. This year the market has already achieved the higher highs part of the pattern—and for the first time since this …

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The Volatility Landscape—May 2013

News CBOE The CBOE plans to extend VIX® Futures trading by over 5 hours—aligning with the London Stock Exchange open, and adding a 45 minute post settlement trading period 4:30 ET to 5:15 ET Monday through Thursday. Two new volatility indexes, DLVIX and DSVIX are documented on the CBOE website.   These indexes were developed in cooperation with the French bank Société Générale and are now …

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