Many software packages that report option Greeks (e.g., delta, gamma, theta, implied volatility) report incorrect values for VIX options (Fidelity, Schwab, Ameritrade , LIVEVOL and Barchart (free subscription) are notable exceptions). Depending on the date and state of the market they can vary from almost correct to widely wrong–giving truly nonsense numbers. These packages assume that the VIX index is the underlying for the VIX options. This is wrong. The best underlying to use is the corresponding VIX future for that month (e.g., January VIX futures for January VIX options).
Thirteen Things You Should Know About Trading VIX options
If you want to trade options on fear I’ve listed some things below that you should know. If you are interested in other volatility investments besides options see “10 Top Questions About Volatility“. Regarding VIX options: Your brokerage account needs to be a margin account, and you need to sign up for options trading. There are various levels of option trading available (e.g., the …
FAQ on VIX, the “Fear Index”
Why do they call the VIX Index the “Fear Index” or “Fear Gauge” Because the VIX almost always goes up when the market goes down. The scarier the decline the higher the VIX tends to go. In the worst part of the 2008/2009 bear market it went as high as 80. In strong bull markets it historically bounces between 10 and 15. How can I …
VIX quotes, options chains, and correct greeks for VIX options
You can get free delayed VIX option quotes at freerealtime.com or Yahoo Finance using the ^VIX symbol. Go to here for options calenders giving the correct expiration dates (always last trading on a Tuesday, expiration on a Wednesday morning) Schwab uses $VIX as the ticker symbol, Fidelity uses VIX, Yahoo uses ^VIX. VIX Settlement values (the price used to evaluate loss/gain at expiration) use symbol VRO …
2023 Ex-div & Paydates Schwab: SCHA, SCHB, SCHC, SCHD, SCHE, SCHF, SCHG, SCHH, SCHM, SCHV, SCHX, FNDF, FNDC, FNDE, SCHK, FINDB, FNDX, FDNA
2023 Schwab ETF Ex-Dividend and Pay date information Schwab has now published their ex-dividend / pay dates for all of their no-fee ETFs. The published dates are: Quarterly Distributions: SCHA, SCHB, SCHD, SCHG, SCHH, SCHM, SCHV, SCHX, FINDB, FNDX, FDNA 2023 Ex-Dividend Dates Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 22-March 21-June 20-September 6-December 28-December (potential cap gains div) Pay / Distribution Dates 27-March 26-June 25-September 11-December 3-January-2024 (potential …
