re: The Wall Street 'fear gauge'...

I'd say a shooting war in the ME might bring some opportunity for VIX puts on the way back down. To the extent this isn't already priced in the market.

I don't speculate on long VIX (VIX calls). I just hold them as insurance, and as a timing mechanism that gives me some additional cash to buy in a lower level.

eta, tracking instruments aren't my preference due to the necessity of rolling contracts and decay. They are a nice short term trading instrument, but since hte equity options on the index are available and liquid, I stick to this.

Fans of our favorite "Fear Gauge" will be happy to know it's plummeting LINK, currently at 15.41.

Retails sales beating expectations. Better than expected inflation report. Feds gonna cut them rates next month.

All is well.

Fear is too scary. We are in a market "rotation".

Visting our old friend VIX!

We're entering sub 15 VIX territory. It hasn't been below 14.60 year to date. And bounced off of that area many times.

Volatility is gone and markets seem to not care about anything at all. But what goes down must go up. Often jumps about this time of year.

Is The Market Being Complacent??

Stay tuned!

Thanks for the reminder. I've been looking at VIX the last week. Never traded it but when it starts dropping like this I try and lighten the load a bit.Had a bunch of short puts expire last Friday. Rolled only a fraction of the position to new shorts. Sold a few OTM puts on DPST and TQQQ and HOOD.

quote:

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Via one of the VIX futures ETNs?

Such as UVXY?

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I've tried to buy on dips with UVIX.

Closed at 17.18. One year range: $17.09-$199.70.

UVIX, or the 2x Long VIX Futures ETF, is a highly leveraged exchange-traded fund designed to deliver twice the daily performance of the Long VIX Futures Index, which tracks short-term volatility in the U.S. stock market via first- and second-month VIX futures contracts. Essentially, UVIX rises when market volatility spikes and falls during calm periods, making it a tool for traders looking to profit from sudden market turbulence—not a long-term investment. You can invest in UVIX through most brokerage platforms just like any other ETF, but it’s crucial to understand its mechanics and risks: UVIX is prone to rapid value decay due to contango in VIX futures and volatility drag, so it’s best used for short-term speculative trades or hedging during market stress. If you're confident in your timing and market outlook, UVIX can offer explosive upside—but it demands precision and caution.

Good time to revisit our old friend: The Wall Street 'fear gauge'!

To recap:

The CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX), known as the “fear gauge,” tracks how much volatility investors anticipate for the S&P 500 over the next month. A value of 21.16 indicates that volatility is somewhat higher than usual, since calmer market periods typically see readings below 20. The recent +8.51% increase reflects growing uncertainty or risk among investors.

I've got a portion of my portfolio in UVIX to hedge against downturns like this.

UVIX / 5 Day Performance
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
$11.19
+15.48%
(+1.50) 5D

What goes up must come down. Usually.