VIX in the 30s, talking market shocks and VIX spikes with Brian Stutland of Equity Armor

With news of Russia invading Ukraine, it was as scary, market-wise, as it’s been since March of 2020 with global stock indices selling off rapidly overnight to send the Nasdaq into bear market territory, SP into correction, and the Nikkei to 15-month low. As the craziness ensued, VIX spiked up to 34 – so we got VIX expert Brian Stutland to come out of his foxhole to provide a unique overview of what is happening in the volatility world this morning and explain why he is so into providing some armor to stock portfolios via the VOL space.

Brian's expansive knowledge of volatility comes from his days as a market maker/trader on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). In this episode, he shares his insightful perspective on various topics like:

• What makes the VIX so hard to benchmark, why it isn't tradeable, and how to make it tradeable
• Where he stands on the newer wave of traders and programs focusing on gamma flows and modeling dealer positioning
• What he envisions for the rest of the year...is another recession in store?
• Plus, Brian gives his hottest take on why the Fed needs to take action and not let inflation continue

Chapters:

00:00-01:40 = Intro

01:41-10:29 = What a morning! VIX to highest level in a year

10:30-25:39 = Trading VIX Options in the Pits

25:40-37:47 = Replicating the VIX, Does Gamma matter?

37:48-48:45 = Rebalancing the Markets Pops & Drops

48:46-52:35 = Where does Vol go from here?

52:36-01:00:04 = Hottest Take

Follow Brian on Twitter @BrianStutland and visit https://www.equityarmorinvestments.com/ to learn more.

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