Market Perspective

August was a fascinating month for volatility statistics. The most surprising stat was that, after July’s record for the widest-ever positive spread between average implied ...

Despite the huge contraction in economic activity and corporate profitability during the second quarter of 2020, the U.S. equity market mounted an impressive rally, ending ...

Investors who seek to reduce equity market exposure while accessing the potential risk-adjusted, return-enhancing benefits of the option market’s propensity to overprice future volatility can ...

The S&P 500® Index has climbed over 35% from its 2020 low on March 23 and, as of May 29, was less than 10% below its ...

Investment strategies that combine broad-based equity market exposure with index option writing offer the potential for a consistently lower risk profile and enhanced risk-adjusted return. ...

Measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have caused radical changes to our everyday lives. We have had to adjust how we work, play, ...

Market shocks come in all sizes and flavors. Sometimes they are a bolt out of the blue with no immediate identifiable trigger, like the flash ...

Volatility markets began to reflect possible election-year uncertainty in January. As the chart below shows, the VIX® futures contracts expiring near key election dates priced in ...

Implied volatility moderated in 2019, after spending much of 2017 at or near record lows and experiencing extreme highs during two volatility spikes in 2018. ...

What is the role of low-volatility investments – such as option writing strategies – if equity market volatility persists at the levels seen in November? ...