In case anyone missed it, I wanted to highlight a report yesterday from Reuters which quoted Edward Tilly, President of CBOE Holdings, as saying that not only is the VIX product line ripe for expansion, but:
“We have benchmarks on a number of other products. I would point out one that is a favorite of mine that I wouldn't be surprised if I saw us launch in the near future - futures on Apple VIX.”
The Apple VIX (VXAPL) was launched in January 2011 along with similar single stock volatility indices for the following:
- Amazon (AMZN): volatility ticker: VXAZN
- Google (GOOG): volatility ticker: VXGOG
- Goldman Sachs (GS): volatility ticker: VXGS
- IBM (IBM): volatility ticker: VXIBM
A successful launch of futures on VXAPL might open the door for futures on one or more of the other single stock volatility indices above.
The chart below, courtesy of Livevol (StockCharts.com, you really should have VXAPL in your database) shows that VXAPL has tended to remain in the mid-30s, but has ranged between the high teens to the high 50s in the first 17 months of its life.
Recall that the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) launched futures on the emerging markets volatility index (VXEEM) in December 2011 and followed up by launching options on VXEEM at the end of January. The CFE also launched futures based on VXEWZ (CBOE Brazil ETF Volatility Index, which is based on EWZ) on February 21 and added options to VXEWZ on March 6.
If you enjoy trading volatility products, it looks like we may be entering the golden era of shrink-wrapped volatility indices, which can serve as a product platform for futures, options and even exchange-traded products. If you think VIX-based ETPs are fun, just wait until a VXAPL-based ETP is rolled out. Of course, if there is not enough demand for the futures and options, some of these ETPs may never see the light of day, so early adopters, don’t shy about hitting some of those bids.
Finally, on a somewhat tangential note, I think I received more emails on The Case for Selling Apple Puts than on any other post in the history of VIX and More. To all those who wrote, including those who elected to sell Apple (AAPL) puts, the current environment may be suitable for a revisiting this trading strategy.
Related posts:
- CBOE to Publish VIX-Style Indices for Individual Stocks
- The Case for Selling Apple Puts
- A Brief History of Apple Earnings, in Pictures
- Apple Products vs. Platform
- Using the iPad for Trading
- CBOE to Launch Futures on Emerging Markets Volatility (VXEEM)
- CBOE Adds Options to Emerging Markets Volatility Index (VXEEM)
- The Evolution of the Volatility Index Family Tree
[source(s): LivevolPro.com]
Disclosure(s): long AAPL at time of writing; Livevol and the CBOE are advertisers on VIX and More