Vol Surface

Posts about implied volatility levels, fixed strike vol, term structure, IV vs realized vol, and implied correlation.

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The spike in implied correlation and what it means

SPX 3-month implied correlation just spiked to 0.40. Realized correlation? Sitting at 0.15.

Vol SurfaceMarket Structure2 min read

The vol relationship few chart

The majority of traders look at vol levels. Some look at term structure. Almost nobody maps the two together. They should.

Vol Surface2 min read

The weekend gap the market forgot

Everyone's arguing about where the SPX goes next. I'm looking at something else entirely.

Trade StructuresVol Surface2 min read

VIX is lying to you

SPX makes a new local low. VIX ticks higher. Looks bearish, right? Not so fast.

VIXVol Surface1 min read

The signal hiding inside implied vol

Stock hits a new high. You think it's bullish. But what's implied vol doing?

Vol SurfaceGamma1 min read

One bad day is wrecking your vol reads

One spike to 120% a year ago is still messing with your reads today.

Vol SurfaceSelling Premium2 min read

Right view. Wrong structure.

"I had the right view... but still lost money." Does this resonate with you?

Trade StructuresVol Surface1 min read

The view wasn't the trade

"I had the right view but still lost money." I hear this time and time again. And the answer is always the same. The view wasn't the trade.

Trade StructuresVol Surface2 min read

SPX fixed strike vol: are you noticing?

When price whips around and fixed-strike skew stays bid, the market isn’t debating direction. It’s repricing downside distribution...

Vol SurfaceSkew2 min read

When the market pays for insurance into strength

Yesterday morning looked clean on the surface. SPX pushed higher, flirting with 7000.Tech earnings were out of the way.

Vol SurfaceHedging2 min read