After 245 Days, Is It Finally Here?

Hey Traders,

 

We’ve been waiting for months for the VIX to finally admit defeat.

 

The index has been holding above 20 for 245 straight days …

 

To put it in context of Valentine’s Day (ahem, reminder!), this run has lasted longer than the majority of my relationships!

 

Anyway, not a record, but pretty darn close …

 

Certainly a record for a bull market, which by the way, we are in.

 

But on Thursday, something happened that I had not seen in the last year …

 

The SPX sold off and the VIX did not pop.

 

Take a look at the price action from yesterday below:

 

When the S&P 500 sold off, the VIX went up. But unlike in the past year, the VIX did not explode … it only marginally rallied and couldn’t hold that pop.

 

Hmmm …


So what does this mean for VIX and what does this mean for you?

 

Sub-20 VIX is coming. Maybe today, maybe mid next week …

 

But it is coming.

 

The Volatility regime is changing and traders are going to need to get used to trading a sub 20 VIX environment again.

 

The one stock that I love out of all of this is CBOE.

 

VIX volume is down 30% year-over-year — because there are no hedgers.

 

The VIX works great as a hedging product when it's 12, but once it explodes, it is no longer a suitable hedge…

 

Until it normalizes.

 

And normal VIX is in the 13-15 range

 

That is coming sooner than you think.

 

The Option Pit VIX Light is Red: Short vol is going to work.

 

Your Only Option


Mark Sebastian

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Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian is a former member of both the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), where he spent years mastering the art of options trading in the most competitive environment imaginable. As Chief Investment Officer at the hedge fund Karman Line Capital, Mark manages sophisticated options strategies for institutional clients. He is the author of two highly regarded books on options trading: ‘The Option Traders Hedge Fund’ and ‘Trading Options for Edge.’ Mark is a frequent guest on major financial networks including CNBC, Fox Business News, Bloomberg, and First Business News, where he provides expert commentary on market volatility and options strategies.

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About the Author

Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian

Former CBOE floor trader and CIO at Karman Line Capital. Author of ‘The Option Traders Hedge Fund’ with over 30 years of options trading experience.

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