Jim Fink:  Because VIX calls are based on VIX futures instead of the more volatile “spot” VIX, in the past I suggested that it would be easier to hedge a portfolio against a “black swan” stock market decline using S&P 500 puts–either the cash-settled SPX index puts or the equity-settled SPY ETF puts. Read more…

NYSE:SPY, NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:TVIZ, NYSE:VQT, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XVZ

Bill Luby: It was only a week ago that I discussed the performance of 31 VIX and volatility-based exchange-traded products in VIX ETP Returns for Q1 2012 and barely a month ago that I examined in some detail the workings of two VIX ETPs, VQT and XVZ, in Dynamic VIX ETPs as Long-Term Hedges. Read more…

NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:TVIZ, NYSE:VQT, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XVZ

Andy Crowder: Many professional options traders don’t really care about options prices or volume. They only care about volatility. That’s because volatility is the single biggest factor for any given options contract. Read more…

NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:TVIZ, NYSE:VQT, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV

David Gillie: The Volatility Index (VIX) is a measure of options activity on the S&P 500—frequently referred to as the “fear index” Read more…

NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:TVIZ, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV

[The following first appeared in the December 2010 edition of Expiring Monthly: The Option Traders Journal. I thought I would share it partly because I have an article, “Synthetic Seasonal VIX-VXX Arb,” which appears in the just published January 2012 issue of Expiring Monthly that Read more…

NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:TVIZ, NYSE:VQT, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV

Bill Luby: The year is not quite over, but I can safely predict that it when it is in the books, there will be no doubt that 2011 has been a bull market for VIX exchange-traded products (ETPs). After seeing two VIX ETPs launched in 2009 and ten in 2010, this year has witnessed the launch of 20 VIX ETPs. Read more…

NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:TVIZ, NYSE:VQT, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV