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VIX TERM STRUCTURE TRADE: VIX FEB 15TH 16/19 SHORT CALL VERTThe two types of trades I like in VIX/VIX derivatives are (1) a "Term Structure" trade in VIX options; and (2) "Contango Drift" trades in the derivatives VXX, UVXY, and (inversely) SVXY. A "term structure" trade capitalizes on current VIX spot price in relation to VIX futures months' prices which, the vast majority of the time, are higher than current spot price, and operates on the notion that VIX spot and the futures price will converge on one another as the futures contract approaches expiry. A "contango drift" trade is put on in a VIX derivative on pops and capitalizes on contango which erodes these underlyings' price over time in the absence of significant and prolonged backwardation, which is rare. (With SVXY, an inverse, price in the underlying increases over time). (See VXX Post, Below, for an example of a "Contango Drift" trade). Here, I'm using the Feb VIX futures contract price as my guideline for my short call strike. As of the writing of this, it's at 16.02. With the long call strike, I'm choosing the 19 strike to limit the buying power effect to $230/contract, although you can certain go wider, which will bring in more credit, but also increase the buying power tied up by the trade. Here are the metrics: Probability of Profit: 91% Max Profit: $70/contract Max Loss/Buying Power Effect: $230/contract Break Even: 16.70 Notes: With these, I take a wait and see approach with profit taking. The general rule is to take profit on credit spreads at 50% max, but if we get into a prolonged volatility lull, I can see shooting for max profit, depending on where VIX spot sits in relation to the short call strike running into expiry. Should VIX be above 16 rolling into expiry, I'll simply roll the spread out to March to allow it additional time to work out.
CBOE:VIXShort
by NaughtyPines
5
OPTION TIP: IRON FLY INTRATRADE DEFENSEPosted here is a live trade example of a LULU iron fly. I started this out as an earnings trade iron condor, looking for classic volatility contraction post-announcement. I got the contraction I wanted, but not the movement, as price immediately broke the short call side of my setup, after which I rolled to an iron fly. (See Post Below). A week after earnings, price has dipped, skewing the net delta of the setup long.* Currently, the net delta of the setup is 24.92, with the respective strikes having the following delta/dollar values: 57.5 Long Put -11.05 delta/46.50 70 Short Put 65.10 delta/522.50 70 Short Call -34.92/170.00 80 Long Call 16.14/19.50 What, if anything, should I do to "defend" the short put side of the setup? Here are my options, with pros and cons for each: 1. Do nothing. There is, after all, plenty of time** until expiry and "fiddling" with the setup here may unnecessarily complicate exiting the trade and potentially increase risk if I choose, for example, to erect a defensive hedge or roll the short call side down toward current price. Additionally, the setup isn't "hugely" out of skew yet and price remains above my break even for the short put side of the setup. 2. Roll the short call or short call side toward current price in the same expiry. This would add short delta to the setup. Personally, the only time I want to take a straddle and roll into an "inverted strangle" is when the short option is approaching worthless and basically providing little to no protection to the oppositional side. That isn't the case here yet: the short call is at the 35 delta or so and is still worth $170.00. 3. Erect a defensive hedge. In this particular case, the setup is net delta long, so I would look to add short delta to the setup, either with a naked short call or a short call vertical. Generally speaking, I like to erect hedges that are, in themselves, high probability setups, so in all likelihood I would sell the 20 delta short call or as close as I can get to it or erect a short call vert with the short leg at the 20 delta strike, and the long leg above it. The Jan 20th 72.5 short call is worth 24 short delta, so that would just about do the trick to get the setup back to almost completely delta neutral. Alternatively, the 72.5/77.5 would add in -14 delta and bring in .70 in credit to boot. Unfortunately, this adds risk to the setup, namely that price will retrace to the call side, thus amplifying short delta, because I would now basically have two short delta or bearish spreads on (the 72.5/77.5 and the 70/80). * * * My basic approach is to stay mechanical. If the untested side isn't approaching worthless, simply leave the setup alone, as temporarily painful as that may be. One side or the other of an iron fly, after all, is being constantly tested, as there is practically no way that price will stay at your short straddle for any length of time. Only when the untested side is approaching worthless do I look at what can be done, with my first preference being to roll the untested side toward current price. This results in a "goofy" setup (an inverted short strangle), but it also means that I'm not taking on additional risk as I would with a hedge. If rolling the untested side would simply be unproductive (there is too little time to expiry to get anything for the roll, for example), I then look at a purely defensive hedge either in the setup's current expiry (again, if that is productive credit-wise) or, if necessary, further out in time. * -- As price moves toward the put side of the setup, delta "lengthens" or becomes more net positive; as it moves to the call side, it "shortens" or becomes more net negative. ** -- "Plenty of time" is somewhat subjective here and will depend on what's happening with the setup.
NASDAQ:LULU
by NaughtyPines
ROLLING: XLU DEC 2ND 45/48.5 SHORT PUT VERT TO DEC 23RDAfter I pulled off the short call of the Dec 2nd iron fly at near worthless today, I rolled the short put side out to the Dec 23rd expiry to give it a little more time to work out, as well to be able to work the call side of the setup effectively. (I have a setup in the Dec 30th expiry already, so didn't want to roll there; Jan was too far out in time for my tastes). I did the roll for a .05 ($5)/contract debit. Shortly thereafter, I sold a call side against -- the 48/51.50 short call vert short here -- for a .23 ($23)/contract credit, so I'm net credit for the roll. (I could not get enough credit out of the 48.5/52 to bother with, so dropped the spread down a half strike. The resulting setup is pictured here. Ideally, I need price to move back toward the "body" of the setup to get out for scratch or better. If that doesn't happen, I'll naturally take the call side off at near worthless, and then "lather, rinse, repeat" with the rolling/selling an oppositional side against.
AMEX:XLU
by NaughtyPines
SHORT VIX DERIVATIVE PLAYS: GIVE THEM TIME TO WORK OUTAn interesting article on shorting the VIX and VIX derivatives: www.marketwatch.com In a nutshell, backwardation occurs (which only applies to VIX derivatives, not to the VIX itself) and this can "derail" a short VIX derivative play that is not given enough time to play out and for contango to kick in and start its inevitable erosion of the underlying, whether it be VXX, UVXY, XIV (inverse), or SVXY (inverse). And although this only shows contango/backwardation for the years 2007-2012, one theme is evident and that is that the market is in contango the vast majority of the time (on average, >75% of the time): www.cboeoptionshub.com In essence, then, the caveat to shorting VIX derivatives in reliance on contango being a constant on top of VIX mean reversion really should be a caveat against shorting and assuming that it will work out "immediately" or even "fairly quickly" (relative terms, I know). The practical crux of this is that if you short VXX* during a VIX >20 spike with, for example, a short call vertical, and it doesn't break your short call as you approach expiry, well, roll it out for duration to a later expiry and give it more time to work out. After all, history says that for >75% of the time, contango will be on your side, even if you have to wait a little longer than you'd like for it to have the desired effect ... . * -- Alternative plays would be to short UVXY with a short call vert, long SVXY with a long put vert (it's an inverse), or go long XIV (it's not optionable; you'll just be stuck with stock). With XIV, since you'll be holding long stock, you're only option is to "wait it out."
CBOE:VXX
by NaughtyPines
WEEK OF 12/5: WHAT I'M LOOKING AT: XBI AND EWZWith the VIX still hovering in sub-15 territory and an examination of broad index exchange-traded funds therefore yielding less premium than I would like,* I'm turning my attention to sector exchange traded funds for possible premium selling plays. Naturally, VIX levels could change in light of the outcome of the Italian referendum (as of the writing of this, Dec 7th expiry VIX futures are up .125 to 14.40, with Dec 14th expiries up a similar amount to 15.05. www.cboe.com). After having ground through the entirety of "X" series SPDR's, along with a few non-X funds, it appears that EWZ and XBI offer the best implied volatility rank and implied volatility metrics for premium selling, with both being >70% in rank over the preceding six months and >35% in implied volatility, which is generally what I look for to play. Since I already have an EWZ iron fly on, I'll look to get one filled in XBI (See Post Below). * -- Currently, QQQ has the highest implied volatility of the four major index exchange-traded funds, but the Jan 20th 20 delta iron condor yields less than a 1.00 credit for a three-wide, which is what I like to see out of these trades (credit received > one-third the wing width).
TVC:VIX
by NaughtyPines
OPENING: IYR DEC 23RD 68/75/75/80 IRON FLYI had intended to put on a similar setup last week, but got distracted by something else ... . Implied volatility rank remains high here, even though IYR's background implied volatility isn't that great. Metrics: Probability of Profit: 44% Max Profit: $343/contract Max Loss/Buying Power Effect: $357/contract Break Evens: 71.57/78.43 Notes: The probability of profit metric on these always seems to suck hard (45-50%). The trade off between this and an iron condor (which has a higher probability of profit) is greater premium at the door, so a better max profit/loss ratio. This is basically a 1-1 setup; most iron condors I do are 1-2. Look to manage at 25% max profit as you would a short straddle ... .
AMEX:IYR
by NaughtyPines
EARNINGS PLAY: ANF NOV 25TH 14.5 SHORT PUTPutting this on a touch early ... . High implied volatility rank/high implied volatility in advance of earnings. I'm looking for a volatility crush after earnings announcement and, of course, bullish or sideways movement ... . Metrics: Probability of Profit: 74% Max Profit: $48/contract Max Loss/Buying Power Effect: $1402 (assuming the stock goes to 0, and you do nothing); buying power effect is broker dependent) Break Even: 14.02 Notes: I'll watch this closely. If I get bullish movement plus an ensuing volatility collapse, I'll look to take it off near worthless. Alternatively, if it breaks the short put, I'll roll it out for additional credit, as I'm not particularly interested in owning the stock.
NYSE:ANFLong
by NaughtyPines
OPENING: XLU DEC 30TH 42.5/46.5/46.5/49.5 IRON FLYAdding to my core exchange traded fund fly positions here with this high implied volatility rank underlying. (I already have some XLU on, so just adding a "smidgeon" here). The implied volatilty in this isn't great, but then it's almost never "great" ... . Metrics: Probability of Profit: 46% Max Profit: $210/contract Max Loss: $190/contract Break Evens: 44.40/48.60 Notes: Will look to manage this like a short straddle -- at 25% max profit ... .
AMEX:XLU
by NaughtyPines
NUGT -- SHARES OR SHORT PUTS?As a general rule, I don't like to hold shares in many underlyings, largely because it isn't that capital efficient as compared to making a similar play using options. With NUGT, however, I might make an exception, but, as always, like to compare and contrast. Buying Shares Advantages: 1. If I want to, I can go smaller and dollar cost average into a long position. 2. My max profit isn't capped out in comparison to the credit received for a short put, where my max profit is that credit. Disadvantages: 1. If current price isn't what I want, I'll have to wait. 2. Buying shares outright locks my cost basis into what I paid for the shares. Selling Puts Advantages 1. If I sell short puts here and price breaks through the strike, I can "roll" for additional credit and further reduce my cost basis in the shares should I be "put" the stock. From a practical standpoint, I can delay getting assigned or put the stock indefinitely. 2. The buying power effect of one short put at, for example, the 6 strike is lower than the number of shares the options contract represents (i.e., 100 shares). 3. Max profit, which is the credit received for the short put, would be greater than that experienced by the increase in value in share price if it doesn't move much or if it goes down. For example, the Dec 16th 6 short put is currently going for .48 ($48) at the mid. If the underlying finishes one penny above my strike (at 6.01), I keep the $48, whereas shares purchased at any price above 6.00 would have actually have gone down in value or be unchanged. Disadvantages 1. Max profit is locked in at the credit received for the short put. In the above Dec 16th 6 short put example, I can only make $48 max, regardless of whether the stock finishes at 6.01 at expiry or 32.00. 2. I will have to wait until the value of the short put approaches worthless to realize at or near max profit. In sum: If I go short put: I win "something" if price goes nowhere, sideways, or down from here somewhat, as long it doesn't break my short put strike at expiry. If I go long shares: I win, but only if price goes up. I can naturally dollar cost average in smaller in some strategic or sensible fashion, but "up" is the only way I can win. That being said, the reward of a "big up" exceeds the reward of a "big up" for the short puts. Short puts will win with a "big up," just not as much as shares will.
AMEX:NUGTLong
by NaughtyPines
SHORT VOLATILITY RELOAD: SVXY DEC 16TH 62/65 SHORT PUT VERTICALUsing the Bollinger bands as a guide, I'm looking to reload a short volatility play should I be able to get a fill for the right price ... . Here, I'm looking for the basic 1/3rd the width of the spread for a fill price (i.e., 1/3rd of 3 = 1 or $100). I'm setting it up as a GTC order that will expire some time next week. I'll then have another look at the Bollinger Bands, see if they've changed and tweak my spread accordingly. If it gets filled at some point, I'll look to manage it at 50% max profit or $50/contract. As always, these short volatility plays are a "money, take, run" proposition.
CBOE:SVXYLong
by NaughtyPines
OPENING: IWM DEC 16TH 103/106/121/124 IRON CONDORWith VIX still "up there," I'm putting on a bit more premium selling setups in broad market instruments. Metrics: Probability of Profit: 61% Max Profit: $104/contract Max Loss/Buying Power Effect: $201 Break Evens: 105.01/121.99 Notes: I'll look to manage this at 50% max profit. I would also note that this is doubling as a bit of delta hedge for an IWM position I already have on that was beginning to skew delta positive. This setup is slightly delta negative and brings my net delta for my IWM positions to slightly negative (which is the way I generally like things).
AMEX:IWM
by NaughtyPines
OPENING: IWM DEC 9TH 108/111/123.5/126.5 IRON CONDORI slapped this one on rather hastily on Friday with the FBI "reopening-Clinton-email-investigation" volatility pop we had on Friday. Unfortunately, I didn't get what I usually look for in these setups -- a credit of at least 1/3rd the width of the wings (I got it filled for .89 ($89) per contract), but could have done slightly better if I'd not been in such a hurry (looks like you could get .92 ($92) at the mid at the moment) (63% probability of profit; $92/contract max profit; $208/contract max loss/buying power effect; break evens at 110.08/124.42; delta -5.87). I'll look to manage it at 50% max profit.
AMEX:IWM
by NaughtyPines
4
TRADE IDEA: EWW DEC 2ND 43.5/46.5/53.5/56.5 IRON CONDORWith a 52-week implied volatility rank of 100 and an implied volatility of 35, EWW -- the Mexican ETF, beckons for premium selling ... . Here, the iron condor brackets the ZigZag/Donchian channel indicated support/resistance at 48.22 and 54.25 nicely, with break evens for the setup above and below those marks. Here are the metrics for the setup: Probability of Profit: Unavailable* Max Profit: $100/contract Max Loss: $200/contract Break Evens: 45.50/54.50 Notes: * -- Accurate probability of profit metrics are unavailable here in the off hours, probably due to after hours bid/ask in the underlying showing bid 44.12/ask 73.00/last 49.98. Look to manage at 50% max profit.
AMEX:EWW
by NaughtyPines
TRADE IDEA: VRX NOV 18TH 17.5 SHORT PUTOkay, so there's other "big pharma" that I like wayyy better than Valeant (e.g., BMY, GILD). The problem is that BMY and GILD are more expensive and don't have the implied volatility that VRX has (for obvious reasons: they don't have as many "warts" as VRX). Nevertheless, I'm watching VRX here because its implied volatility is so high (>100%), which makes relatively far out-of-the-money short puts comparatively rich in premium. Here, I'm eyeing the 17.5 short puts for obvious reasons -- that strike is below historic lows for this poo pile. Moreover, with an implied vol of >100%, I can get .83 ($83) in credit per contract "at the door," which makes it quite attractive for an underlying at this price. The notion here would be to either (a) keep the premium; or (b) get put the shares at 17.5, after which I would sell calls against (covered call).
V
by NaughtyPines
THE WEEK OF 10/16: WHAT I'M LOOKING ATWhile I grind away on various covered call positions (I only have one covered call with an October short call on; the rest are in November or December), I'm looking ahead to some decent earnings for premium selling. Generally, I'm looking for underlyings whose implied volatility is above the 70th percentile for the past 52 weeks and that have background implied volatility of greater than 50% to play for a contraction in volatility immediately following the earnings announcement, with the go-to strategies being short strangles or iron condors. Currently, there are four underlyings with good liquidity options that announce earnings next week and whose volatility is above the 60th percentile for the preceding 52 weeks: IBM, NFLX, UA, and EBAY. I'm screening for >60 implied volatility rank at this point, since volatility in these could still ramp up to my >70%, meaning that they might be worth keeping an eye on. IBM -- Announces 10/17 after market close. The implied volatility rank is now in the 85th percentile. Unfortunately, the background implied volatility is far from being up to snuff at this point for me (28.3%). NFLX -- Announces 10/17 after market close. Implied vol rank: 64th percentile; implied volatility 56.6%. It's very nearly "there". Hopefully implied volatility pops a little more right before earnings. UA -- Announces 10/17 after market close. Rank: 62; implied vol 41.7%. Needs more. EBAY -- Announces 10/19 after market close. Rank: 93; implied vol 41.6%. Needs more. After I look at implied volatility percentile and the background implied volatility, I look at what I can get out of a setup. Generally, I'm shooting for a 1.00 credit for either a short strangle or iron condor, since I look to take these off at 50% max profit (i.e., a .50 ($50)/contract profit). Alternatively, I look at whether a short straddle or iron fly would make sense if the underlying is just too cheap to yield a decent enough credit. With short straddles/iron flies, I generally look to get 2.00 in credit at the outset, since I tend to manage those at 25% max.
NYSE:IBM
by NaughtyPines
BACK TO WAITING FOR BROAD MARKET VOLATILITY ... BROAD MARKET INSTRUMENT PREMIUM SELLING Post-Brexit vote in late June, when VIX spiked to >25 (signalling a premium selling opportunity in broad market instruments like SPY/SPX and RUT/IWM in the July expiry), there has been but one >15 spike to >20 in mid-September that allowed for some premium selling in the October monthlies, which have since come off in profit in the ensuing volatility crush. Consequently, I'm back to sitting on my hands waiting for another >15 VIX spike to sell premium in SPY/SPX or IWM/RUT in a November expiry and/or managing the small number of plays I have on as covered calls or premium selling in sector ETF's like GDX and XOP, where the implied volatility remains high compared to what it is in the broader market (48.4% and 35.5%, respectively). CAN THIS EARNINGS SEASON NOT SUCK FOR PREMIUM SELLING? Naturally, I'm also watching potential earnings plays, but I waved off many of those last season because they weren't up to snuff. Generally, I'm looking for those to have implied volatility above the 70% percentile for the past 52 weeks and implied volatility above 50%, and there haven't been many of those around of late due to general market volatility lull. The first earnings play of interest to me right now with a >70% implied volatility rank is EBAY (10 days out), but its implied volatility remains below 50% (35.2%)
TVC:VIX
by NaughtyPines
2
TRADE IDEA: XLU NOV 18TH 42/47/47/52 IRON "FLY"I haven't done many of these in the past, but I'm beginning to warm up to them, particular with instruments that wouldn't ordinarily yield jack diddly squat with a traditional iron condor setup. Here's how this iron fly compares to an iron condor with similar break evens (it would be a Nov 18th 43/46/48/51):* Probability of Profit: Fly: 52% Condor: 52% Max Profit: Fly: $220 Condor: $120 Max Loss: Fly: $280 Condor: $180 Break Evens: Same Theta: Fly: 1.85/day Condor: 1.32/day Take Profit: Fly: 25% of max ($55 profit) Condor: 50% of max ($60) Spread "Repair": Same for both setups; roll tested side out for duration and, if feasible, away from current price for strike improvement; sell the oppositional spread against for a credit that exceeds what it cost to roll the tested side. Taking into account all credits received and debits paid, shoot to take off the rolled setup at the original take profit. As you can see, the probability of profit is the same for setups with the same or substantial similar break evens, and there's little meaningful difference between the profit I would get if I managed the fly like a short straddle (at 25% max) and the condor like a short strangle (at 50% max) ($55 vs. $60). The research I have looked at for short straddles and short strangles indicates that short straddles reach 25% max in about 30 days on average; short strangles 50% max in about 25 days, www.tastytrade.com (short strangles); tastytradenetwork.squarespace.com (short straddles), which appears to suggest that there is no huge difference in "time to same profit" for the two strategies. (Although those studies involved short straddles and short strangles, you can think of iron flies as "defined risk short straddles" and short strangles as "defined risk short strangles"). Consequently, even though you're receiving greater credit up front for the iron fly, you're probably going to have to wait around for it to reach 25% max profit about the same amount of time as you would an iron fly. The important takeaway here is that -- but for the iron fly -- I would probably not put on a defined risk trade in XLU. The reward is too small; the risk too great in comparison. So, another tool in the tool box for when you just can't enough credit out of a play in an instrument with your "regular" set of tools ... . * -- Generally speaking, I would not set up an iron condor this tightly. I'd set up the short option strikes at the edge of the expected move and then the long options out from there 3-5 strikes (e.g., a Nov 18th 42/45/49/52). However, that particular setup would only yield a .72 ($72) credit/contract, and -- were I to manage that trade for 50% of profit -- would only yield .36 ($36) for a setup with a max loss of 2.28/contract ($228). The type of setup for an instrument with these particular metrics (price, implied volatility, etc.) is generally not worth it, in my opinion.
AMEX:XLU
by NaughtyPines
3