When Will This Bull Run Be Over? Using the VIX / VXV Ratio as an Indicator…

If you can remember market action for more than two months, you’re probably not wondering: “Is Market Volatility Gone for Good?”  However you probably are wondering when this sustained upswing will be over.   I’m keeping a close eye on things because I’ve had a run-up in my VelocityShares XIV holdings that I’d rather not lose to a correction. The last few months have felt like …

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The VIXs of Christmas Past

One of the persistent characteristics of the CBOE‘s VIX® index is the Christmas Effect—the tendency for VIX to drop down to relatively low levels during the Christmas holidays.  The CBOE’s VIX volatility December futures predict this drop for months in advance, and it has come to pass again this year.   I am aware of at least three possible explanations for this: Option market makers and others …

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The Volatility Landscape

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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A Brief History of Fear—VIX Over the Last 30 Years

One of the scariest things about market panics is their unpredictability.  All of us remember the dark days of 2008 and 2009, not so many the October 1987 crash.   For me, both of those crashes carried the same sense of disruption—the feeling that things would never be quite the same again. I’ve been looking at the history of volatility because it’s clear to me …

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VIX Term Structure

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 …

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