volatility

Unintended Consequences of Systematic Covered Call Writing
September 07, 2017
Concepts

Unintended Consequences of Systematic Covered Call Writing

Patrick Ceresna

Enhancing income and returns through covered call writing has become one of the most common strategies being adopted by investors.  Arguably selling calls against shares and ETFs is considered a conservative strategy that almost any Canadian retail investor can access, in and out of their registered accounts. While many...

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7 years ago
Buyers of Options Can Face an Uphill Climb
August 16, 2017
Volatility

Buyers of Options Can Face an Uphill Climb

Hans Albrecht

S&P/TSX 60 (“the Index”) options are generally priced a little too high versus actual market movement. In other words, many buyers of insurance will pay more than ‘fair value’ for options in order to protect against drawdowns and volatile market environments. Based on an ongoing measure of realized volatility, or...

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It’s Good to be the Insurer
May 04, 2017
Risk Management

It’s Good to be the Insurer

Hans Albrecht

  Option pricing, or insurance, is a relative value product. For instance, a $300 annual premium for $1 million of life insurance coverage for a young, healthy individual is reasonable. However, that same $300 price tag to insure a 65 year-old smoker with high blood pressure is way too cheap. When it comes to life...

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Understanding Volatility Exchange Traded Products
March 28, 2017
Volatility

Understanding Volatility Exchange Traded Products

Hans Albrecht

Using volatility ETPs is a pure play way to target volatility for your portfolio – no strike risk to worry about. But make sure you understand the key points below very well before wading in… ——————— I’m often asked about long volatility exchange traded products (ETPs) –...

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Will Volatility Revert to the Mean?
March 22, 2017
Other

Will Volatility Revert to the Mean?

Hans Albrecht

A crucial foundation for understanding how option volatility works is the concept of ‘mean reversion’. For a period, stocks can go up and stay up, and they can conversely go down and stay down. But option pricing will generally have trouble staying high or low for an extended length of time. So why do prices eventually move...

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