UPDATE Credit Suisse terminated XIV due to a greater than 80% drop in its indicative value on 5-Feb-2018. The final payout was $5.99 per share. The last day of trading was the 15th of February 2018. In the prospectuses for XIV, there are some disconcerting discussions about termination events. For XIV the termination event is triggered if the daily percentage drop exceeds 80%. I did …
Anyone that follows volatility closely knows that short term views on volatility are much more dynamic than longer term. For example, if the market is moving from a dip into a “V” style recovery the CBOE’s 9 day expectation of volatility VXST, will drop much more than the 30 day VIX. A chart showing volatility expectations vs time is called a volatility term structure. The …
Schwab has released version 1.8.7.0 of StreetSmart Edge for download on their website. You can tell your current version by looking for the “current build” note in the upper right hand corner of the display. Be sure to save your layouts before you update, because when you update you lose your current customization and have to restore them. Schwab doesn’t publish what defects …
Apparently, Vanguard likes to keep their ETF ex-dividend and distribution dates a secret until just a couple of days before the event. It has that old mutual fund feel to it—”we’ll give you a quote after-market and allow you to buy or sell our stuff at the end of the day, otherwise go away…” As a result, the dates below are just guesses, based on …
I used to share stock tips with my brothers-in-law. Before the tech crash I could offer up a few stocks I liked, and they would often make some money. The crash painfully ended the easy money and I moved on to index funds. They didn’t think indexes were near as much fun. One Easter one of my brothers-in-law asked what I was investing in. …
