u still in the nov dec switch (in the other thread it was around 75 cents when u posted; currently 42/44)? u mentioned long and that implies -nov +dec..just curious
Yep, still holding. I'm actually short via +nov/-dec due to trading it through IB, but the results are the same (30-40 ticks or so in favor).
Don't get me wrong, I'm with you on the benefits of trading futures. Most of my trading is straight VIX options and futures. I'm just saying, if a person does understand the basic functioning of the volatility products like XIV / VXZ, then they are the simplest way to trade because they alone can form a robust and profitable systematic trading strategy. With futures there is no system that simple that would work, either do this, or do that. Doesn't exist in the options and futures market. To succeed there, many strategies have to be combined together depending on the environment and it requires a very deep understanding of the volatility market and the math behind it. Volatility products offer a real opportunity for exceptional long-term gains in what is essentially a binary yes or no system. It's brilliant. The signals themselves are complex and many of course, but the execution is dirt simple. Buy, or don't. That's what I meant by simplicity. I didn't mean trading them is easy, it's really not. The vast majority of people who try to just end up melting their trading account. But with the right set of signals, nothing could be simpler.
i trade vix futures exclusively so i am very clear on long and short when referring to a spread (a directional trade i would never do) , on oct 29 you wrote: thats the trade i was referencing. "long" is -nov +dec per IB ..not as ur reply states. i will never understand why people make up stuff on an anonymous internet site.
Are you seriously attempting to call me out because a spread was stated one way for the universe that doesn't use IB and then stated another way in IB parlance even though they're both completely equivalent? Do you not understand that there's not even a standard on how to state spreads in an unambiguous fashion? Once again: LONG NOV, SHORT DEC. It's always been that way.
i'm pretty well versed in vix futures spreads; thank you. nonetheless you stated long, and then short...common sense (which may not be common) says you carry the same parlance within the same trades post online here. one day u are long, another u are short...heads i win, tails u lose! anyway, you guys are small potato's to even bicker with. for fun, see if u can figure patterns what i am running. this is 1/4 of my size..a quick screen from one account:
I haven't traded "volatility issues" (but I may start), so perhaps I'm all wet. BUT... Looks to me like the XIV and VXX could be "K.I.S.S., chart-traded" like most other issues.
I think the point here is that you shouldn't even trade them before looking up their holdings. They're not what retail typically thinks they are.
That is a really bad idea man. Trade the charts? On XIV and VXX? Are you under the impression that supply and demand drives their price? As i960 said, you really do need to research what they are before dipping a toe in the water. I suggest you read the full prospectus on these products, as well as absorbing all the free information that's floating around on the internet about these trade account vaporizing products. Charts are completely useless here.