be specific.. which fly and whats then and now pricing??? i'm thinking volatility should increase as we top out somewhere here... not calling a top but things can look toppy for a while...
I am sorry, the following should clarify more! SPY DEC12 options as of september 10: SPY DEC12 options as of today: The strategy was +p143 -2p144 +1p145 look then and now pricing (hit the market or mid price).
You certainly could neutralize your initial exposure to gamma by trading a gamma-neutral calendar and in this case you have a near-clean Vega exposure.
so like short 2 front month long a back month at same strike... which strike do you pick in relation to the fly you have on? how do you make sense of this..
aahh your ratioing ATM ... your wanting the fronts to deflate while the backs hold... that doesn't seem like a high return strategy ...
but then you increase your exposure to term structure, etc. And term structure becomes a meaningful part of your pnl.
Well, your exposure is forward vol (you are long root-time vega, unlike in a calendar), so the main exposure is the overall level of vol. The slope of the term structure is going to be influencing the level of the specific forward vol, but unless you are trading an event in single stock, you are mainly exposed to the overall level of the implied vol. While it sounds like a great deal, it's not necessarily so - when overall level of vol is low, the term structure is steep and you are buying forward vol at a higher level and rolling down to spot. When the term structure is flat, the roll-up is in your favour, but you are usually buying forward vol at a pretty high level.