Timing Volatility: Measure Fear and Greed to Get an Edge in the Market

Steven Place

Nov 2011 · FT Press

About this eBook

In recent years, capital markets have undergone repeated periods of extraordinary volatility, creating and destroying massive amounts of wealth with stunning rapidity. In response to accelerating volatility, many investors have adopted hedging via options and other derivatives; tools that were once limited to specialists can now be used by retail traders with the click of a mouse. As these tools become increasingly prevalent, investors must learn a crucial new skill: how to use their prices to accurately gauge market perception of risk.

In Timing Volatility, expert options trader Steven Place helps you develop a far deeper understanding of risk markets, including risk premia, implied volatility, and the VIX index. You’ll learn how to identify signals of shifting risk perception in the markets and transform them into actionable ideas that put you a step ahead of other traders and investors. Next, Place guides you through the elements of a successful volatility timing model and presents a detailed example based on the classic trader’s axiom “buy the blood”—showing how to capture opportunities that arise only when others are panicking. Place concludes by introducing an extensive list of timing tools for more effective analysis and model development, including Bollinger Bands, moving averages, price/volatility divergences, volatility pivots, volatility term structure, volatility skew, and much more.

About the author

Steven Place is a professional options trader who specializes in structuring trades to exploit quantitative models and technical analysis while minimizing risk through hedging. He has been consistently profitable in both bullish and bearish environments. Place blogs at InvestingwithOptions.com, bringing clarity and color to the equity options markets.