Subject: Re: Volatility index "investing"
Ted,
Your whole post confused me.
1.
Being long or short VIX futures is the same as betting volatility will be up or down at the specified future date, isn't it?
I get that the ETFs reset each day so to make money you need a steady up or down trend in volatility. If the volatility itself is volatile, the ETF will almost always lose money. But if furtures are really short dated, kinda like buying T bills instead of holding cash, no? (Because in this analogy I don't know how to trade "cash" ie volatility).
2.
I have sold CSPs before. Don't need an ETF for that. High volatility = bigger premia = cheaper stock if it gets assigned. OR, if selling way ITM puts, just cheaper way to buy. Regardless, I would call that taking advantage of volatility when it's high, not necessarily purely buying/selling volatility itself.