Featuring a special guest appearance by Don “Sold to You” Schlesinger

Volatility Views 158: Is VIX Without Contango Even Possible?

Volatility Review: A look back at the week in vol

  • VIX Cash: High: 15.13 – Low: 12.41
  • VVIX: 82.12
  • S&P 30-day realized Vol: 10
  • VIX Options: Total: 7.84m (5.84m Calls, 2.01m Puts)
  • Single largest VIX Options trade in History. Sold VIX July 17-23 1×2 call spread to close. Bought July 17-23 1×2 call spread to close play $0.11 – essentially rolling out to July. Size was 1.08M contracts total.
  • Crude Oil: Crude bears are starting to show their claws again.
  • OVX 31.67 – OIV 32.18
  • This comes after today may set a near-record 9th week of gains for the most consecutive weekly gains in at least 30 years.

Volatility Voicemail: Listener questions and comments

  • Question from Andrew Grove – Are there any packaged products out there that will replicate a long or short delta-neutral straddle position? The key part I believe would be the adjustments as the product would require multiple adjustments to remain delta neutral. I have listened to your program for a long time and come to the conclusion that delta-neutral is the best way to capture volatility in the marketplace right now. But I do not want to tie up all of my capital and all of my time managing and adjusting one trade. I would prefer to buy or sell something that handled the lion?s share of the work for me. If there was some slippage on the execution I could live with it as the ultimate cost of using a packaged product vs. doing it myself. Thoughts? Am I crazy? I would love to get the old VolX guys opinion on this as well if possible since I assume they have insight into this issue.