In case you wonder, no I didn’t just pull that one out of my rectum, and yes it’s a real thing. In fact vomma is officially listed as one of the option greeks (check it out over on Investopedia). And it also happens to be one of the more exotic indicators of implied volatility that is very carefully monitored by professional option traders. And let me assure you that they are ALL keeping a very close eye on it this very week. But why?
With equities not just reaching but far exceeding stratospheric levels the question of how much longer this can be sustained obviously comes to mind. In fact it’s the prevailing sentiment in light of a face ripping rally that is unparalleled in financial history. I have repeatedly pointed out the obvious disconnect between the stock market and what has transpired across Main Street. Not just all over the United States but also in the rest of the Western hemisphere, which continues to be on the receiving end of various well intended policy decisions.
A subscriber who bought my Options 201 course wrote me today asking for some clarification on how to best stack your weekly butterflies. There were four aspects to his inquiry, namely: 1) which expiration to choose on which days of the week 2) how to distribute your exposure 3) deciding directional bias and 4) structuring ones trade based on the current IV environment. Let’s tackle these questions one by one:
It’s been almost 30 years since I’ve lived in Northern Europe and among several personal reasons a major incentive to leave for warmer climates was that I don’t care much for six months of non-stop crappy weather. The are two things I absolutely miss every single year however. One is a white Christmas (yes, I’m hypocrite) and the other is a real spring, especially early spring when the snow begins to melt and the first snowdrops push their tiny heads through the remaining vestiges of snow. And based on the numbers it also happens to be a good time for equities. So let’s review the freshly updated monthly stats for March.