This is a significant change in the market. After all, the majority of our gains here at Trading Volatility have been made by betting on a decline in volatility by buying inverse volatility ETPs, SVXY and XIV, as can be seen in our past performance updates (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019: see below). The easy money has been made by shorting volatility in this bull market.
The moment I'm referring to is the coming stock correction that has been set up by a a record 12-year bull market and driven volatility levels into the basement. After hitting a low of 8.56 in November 2017, the VIX has been putting in a higher base which now sits near 12.0.
At this point we need to shift gears and be ready for the big gains. I'm talking about the gains that come from being long VXX and often happen in a short period of time. As you can see in the charts below, October 2008 is the best example of what we're about to see (May 2010, Aug 2011, Aug 2015, Feb 2018, Oct 2018, and Dec 2018 are examples of "more ordinary" months with VXX trades). Most people in this market are greedy in buying stocks and now is the time to be looking at taking the other side of the trade and buying volatility.
Many people have disregarded the warnings about the yield curve inverting as a signal for a recession. However, the reality is that the yield curve has inverted (where 3-month bonds yields are higher than 10-year bond yields) in many countries across nearly every continent in a sign of global recession.
Dozens of Central Banks are doing their best to fight a recession and spur growth by cutting interest rates. The continuation of falling bond yields around the world, often into negative interest rate territory, signals a world of declining growth.
Corporate Insiders are selling their stock at a pace not seen since 2007 as doubts about the sustainability of these valuations grow.
THIS. IS. HAPPENING.
There's just one little problem though.
You can't just sell your stocks to move to cash, buy inverse ETFs or just buy VXX yet.
Why? Because the Federal Reserve still has the confidence of investors. There are rates to cut and Quantitative Easing to promise and/or deliver, which could drive stocks higher.
Or not. Maybe market participants get collectively concerned if the Fed sees the situation as dire enough to make big rate cuts and push liquidity into the system as they did in the 2008-2009 financial emergency?
Perhaps we come to realize that the problem is rates are already low due to the inability to raise them from the emergency levels of near 0% set 10 years ago.
Since the timing for a stock correction is difficult to predict, what you can do now is diversify. Carve out a portion of your portfolio and dedicate it to protecting your gains through a form of "tail risk" insurance using volatility.
"Tail Risk" as most people think of it is generally a losing proposition that can be as simple as buying VXX, UVXY, or TVIX or as involved as buying rolling puts or selling calls on the S&P 500. This is quite simply, a terrible idea. It works maybe once every 10 years, but only to the extent that it would have been better to not do it all. There is a built in Negative Bias against volatility ETFs due to how they are designed -- it is precisely why VXX quickly lost 99% of its value 5 years after the time it was first launched in 2009.
Our form of Tail Risk protection is different because it is dynamically allocated:
- When there is no immediate danger we are actually short volatility and collecting premiums from all those who are continuously buying protection. It generates gains.
- Our indicators inform us each day on whether the likelihood of a spike in volatility is significant, and prompts us to move to cash or long volatility when necessary.
- By doing this we don't spend money on portfolio hedging when it is unlikely to make money. We only hedge when necessary.
We've been providing services for applying dynamic volatility positions using strict rule-based decision making to investors for over six years now with an average annual gain of over 40% per year.
Our offerings have grown and are now used by people investing small $10,000 accounts and Financial Advisory managing $100,000,000+ in assets.
Your opportunity is to join us now because once the next volatility spike it's too late. Our gains will be made and those without hedges in place will have lost. It's that simple.
We make it as easy as we can for people to follow our strategies by sending automated signals change alerts, preliminary alerts, and daily summaries.
Check out what we offer to subscribers by viewing our Subscribe page. Considering the information you get from our service, our subscription prices are actually ridiculously cheap. And for those who are afraid of commitment, we offer day passes with full access to our site for as little as $4/day.
To learn more visit our Strategy page. You can also view all the trades that our strategies have generated over the years by looking at the spreadsheets on the Results page or links to Collective2.
Check out what we offer to subscribers by viewing our Subscribe page. Considering the information you get from our service, our subscription prices are actually ridiculously cheap. And for those who are afraid of commitment, we offer day passes with full access to our site for as little as $4/day.
To learn more visit our Strategy page. You can also view all the trades that our strategies have generated over the years by looking at the spreadsheets on the Results page or links to Collective2.
Free E-book:
If you'd like to learn more about our how volatility ETFs work you can read our free e-book, Fundamental Concepts and Strategies for Trading Volatility ETPs, which is available for free download. If you are curious about how our Bias forecasts work and why they have been successful in identifying long-term trends under a variety of market conditions, be sure to give this a read. It explains the basic concepts of VIX and VIX futures as well as the main price drivers of various volatility ETPs, including the popular funds VXX, VIXY, SVXY, UVXY, ZIV, and VXZ. I believe that the concepts outlined in the e-book are critical to understand if you're going to trade these products.
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Hypothetical and Simulated Performance DisclaimerThe results are based on simulated or hypothetical performance results that have certain inherent limitations. Unlike the results shown in an actual performance record, these results do not represent actual trading. Also, because these trades have not actually been executed, these results may have under- or over-compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated or hypothetical trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to these being shown. Hypothetical and backtest results do not account for any costs associated with trade commissions or subscription costs. Additional performance differences in backtests arise from the methodology of using the 4:00pm ET closing values for SVXY, VXX, and ZIV as approximated trade prices for indicators that require VIX and VIX futures to settle at 4:15pm ET
Hypothetical and Simulated Performance DisclaimerThe results are based on simulated or hypothetical performance results that have certain inherent limitations. Unlike the results shown in an actual performance record, these results do not represent actual trading. Also, because these trades have not actually been executed, these results may have under- or over-compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated or hypothetical trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to these being shown. Hypothetical and backtest results do not account for any costs associated with trade commissions or subscription costs. Additional performance differences in backtests arise from the methodology of using the 4:00pm ET closing values for SVXY, VXX, and ZIV as approximated trade prices for indicators that require VIX and VIX futures to settle at 4:15pm ET
