How many ways are there to short the VIX?

D

dcwriter2

One can short the ETPs -- and hopefullly hedge. But what other ways are there using options, futures or ETPs, do any have any better track record than the others? Was thinking about just always selling deep OTM put credit spreads on UVXY.
 
Way too much complacency in the market and you want to short the vix. That's when it usually spikes.
If you want to short the vix you are better off waiting patiently for a 20+ reading.
 
Just found this today, now what could this trader be doing is protecting a very large long position in the market by placing such a significant bet on the vix hoping for a 500% surge in the vix. I clearly dont see a 500% move higher but a 100-200% increase in the vix by April is certainly not out of the question. I will be buying a VXX call options probably over the next week or two especially now that the vix is getting down to 11 area.


By
Gregory Calderone
October 25, 2019, 4:10 PM EDT

Someone is betting big that the U.S. stock market is on track for the kind of turbulence not seen since the global financial crisis.



Trading in call options on the Cboe Volatility Index, known as the VIX, outweighed puts by more than 2-to-1 on Friday with the index at its lowest level since July as stocks rallied. The standout trade was one block of 50,000 April $65 calls that were bought for 10 cents. Those contracts would imply a surge in the VIX of almost 500% from its current level.
 
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Does anyone know of any studies that show a better performance for selling VIX call spreads versus shorting TVIX or UVXY, with or without long call protection? I'm skeptical.
 
I haven't bought call spreads on VXX, but have looked at the bid/ask spreads when the VXX has spiked substantially in the past. As I remember, the bid/ask were pretty wide and may be difficult to close without getting a a fill price that would seem acceptable.
 
I'm still convinced shorting a leveraged product is the best way to got but unsure of what the optimal hedge would be in terms of cost.
 
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