VIX Option Volumes Jumps To Highest Since Feb 2018

SVOL: I Am Pleased With The New Holdings (Upgrade)

Simplify Volatility Premium ETF aims to generate income by selling futures on the CBOE Volatility Index. The fund has made significant changes to its holdings to reduce exposure to the aggregate bond index and increase investments in high yield credit, T-Bills, and new-issue mortgages. I am pleased with the changes to the fund and believe the new holdings will be a boon for SVOL. The Simplify Vol volatility premium fund has outperformed the S&P 500 since its inception.

Weekly Report: what happened at SVXY last week (0408-0412)?

Weekly Report: what happened at SVXY last week (0401-0405)?

Gold Volatility Surges Higher On Upside Call Demand

Implied volatilities fell across asset classes last week in a holiday-shortened week, with the notable exception of gold. GLD 1M implied vol jumped over 2 pts to 13.4% as gold prices surged to a new all-time high. The extreme bullishness in gold reflects optimism over inflation and Fed policy.

SVXY: More Aggressive Version Of SVOL

ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (SVXY) has outperformed the overall market in the last 3 years. The fund makes daily short trades on VIX futures and is a unique "leveraged" fund. SVXY behaves differently in extreme cases but has performed well overall. It is different from the popular Simplify Volatility PremiumETF (SOL) and is outperforming by a large margin.

Weekly Report: what happened at SVXY last week (0325-0329)?

Weekly Report: what happened at SVXY last week (0318-0322)?

ProShares Announces ETF Share Splits

ProShares will implement forward and reverse share splits on eleven of its ETFs. The splits will not change the total value of a shareholder’s investment and will be effective on two separate dates. The forward splits will decrease the price per share of each fund. ProShares also will implement reverse splits for six of itsETFs in two phases.

Rates Volatility Nears 1-Year Low Ahead Of FOMC

Implied volatilities fell across most asset classes last week as CPI inflation came in stronger than expected. The probability of a June rate cut fell from 65% to 51%, with the market now expecting less than 3 rate cuts this year. Interest rate volatility led the decline, with implied vol for both HYG and LQD hitting a 1-year low.

Weekly Report: what happened at SVXY last week (0311-0315)?

Are Option Income Funds Suppressing Volatility?

equity volatility has fallen significantly over the past year, with the VIX index declining from an average of 26 in 2022 to just 17 in 2023. The decline in volatility has been historic and surprising. The rise in popularity of "derivative income" funds that sell covered calls and puts for income is to blame.

Weekly Report: what happened at SVXY last week (0304-0308)?

Weekly Report: what happened at SVXY last week (0226-0301)?

Antifragile 3 Asset Portfolio With Over 4% Yields

Weekly Report: what happened at SVXY last week (0219-0223)?

Stock-market investors fear short-volatility bets could crush the rally

Shorting volatility is a popular trade that triggered a market meltdown in February 2018. The Cboe Volatility Index VIX has risen 12.7% since December. The VIX is Wall Street's "fear gauge" for a sudden spike in volatility. Some traders fear the VIX could spike and spark a selloff in the S&P 500.

The SVOL Advantage: Smarter Exposure To Market Volatility

Simplify Volatility Premium ETF seeks to achieve modest exposure to short VIX exposure and protects against VIX spikes by buying out-of-the-money VIX calls. The volatility selling strategy makes money by selling VIX futures one month out instead of the front month future. The challenge with volatility selling strategies is that they have enormous drawdowns.

Weekly Report: what happened at SVXY last week (0212-0216)?

The Tape Is Getting A Little Stretched