Gamma is Cheap(er)

With the market making new yearly hi's (SPY chart below), the price of front month options in the SPY is priced considerably lower than its back month comrades. As depicted in the skew charts below, 2011 illustrated a common skew that we often see - front month options being most expensive based Implied Volatility, or IV, relative to the other series. As you can see in the final skew chart, front month options are pricing in very little movement for the coming weeks. This is not really surprising given the general outlook on the VIX and the market action seen earlier this week in the VIX options, where vol reeled some 6 pts lower in a single day. With the vol of the vol so to speak seemingly headed lower, gamma is currently cheap and maybe will be cheaper still. Nevertheless, it provides some intriguing possibilities and opportunities, not the least of which is a reversion to the mean trades (read short calendars - warning:could take a while) or outright long gamma positions to speculate or hedge against near term portfolio events. Happy trading.

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Options 101: Skew

Skew, also referred to as the "smile", is the difference in implied volatility levels of single cycle options. There are two main groups of skew, horizontal and vertical. Horizontal skew shows how implied volatility changes across time and vertical skew depicts the change in implied volatility across strikes.

Although there are many beliefs as to why it exists, in general, skew is a product of supply and demand. Knowledge of skew shapes can help traders identify opportunity and steer clear of danger when spreading in various markets.

Using option analysis software, one can plot implied volatility as a function of both strike price and time to maturity to create an implied volatility surface. This allows traders to quickly determine the shape of the skew and identify any areas where the slope seems irregular.

http://seaofopportunity.blogspot.com/*Special thanks to Option Radar, BMO Capital, MEB Options, LiveVolPro, CBOE, Option Monster, T.O.P. group, and all of the options desks and traders we work with to provide the option flow!No position at this time. Position declarations are believed to be accurate at time of writing but may change at any time and without notice.