Top Posts of 2013 (Through First Half of Year)

Every year I tabulate the most-read posts in this space as I find this exercise to be an excellent way to identify the issues that are resonating with readers and also to see how these issues evolve over time. These most-read posts also serve as easily accessible repositories of high-quality material for the benefit of new readers and long-term readers alike.

A number of themes seem to be top of mind for 2103 so far. Clearly the VIX ETPs and their construction and valuation quirks continue to be a huge issue, as is their performance during various volatility regimes. On a related note, low volatility ETPs generated considerable press and interest toward the beginning of the year and as volatility picked up in the second quarter, readers gravitated toward information on VIX spikes and various ways to measure and evaluate risk.

The posts below represent those that have been read by the highest number of unique readers during the first half of 2013. Farther down there are links to similar lists going back to 2008, along with several other “best of” type posts that I have flagged for archival purposes.

For the record, each year I also attach the hall of fame label to a handful of posts that I believe have particularly compelling and/or original content, regardless of readership.

• The Low Volatility Story in Pictures
• Four Years of SPX Pullbacks in One Plot
• VIX ETP Performance in 2012
• All-Time VIX Spike #11 (and a treasure trove of VIX spike data)
• Lowest VIX Close Since Day Before Biggest VIX Spike Ever
• The Currency Carry Trade, DBV and Risk
• The VIX and the Pre-FOMC + Post-FOMC Trades
• The Inverted Percentile VIX
• The VIX, Interpolation and the Roll
• Updated SPX Pullback Summary Table for SPX 1485
• Record VIX Options Volume and Large Purchases of VIX Calls
• VIX Futures Margin Requirements to Increase After Today’s Close
• The Fed, QE, the Economy and Goldilocks 2.0
• ISEE Equities Only Index Prints Something Not Seen Since March 6, 2009
• Beyond SPLV: The Expanding Universe of Low Volatility ETPs
• The Year in VIX and Volatility 2012
• The Options and Volatility ETPs Landscape
• Another Record in VIX Call Volume
• VIX and SPX During 1994 Interest Rate Hike Cycle
• VXX and VXZ Celebrate Fourth Birthday
• All About the Pullback from SPX 1687
• ZIV Starting to Gain Momentum
• Guest Columnist at The Striking Price for Barron’s: How to Insure Your Stock Portfolio
• Guest Columnist at The Striking Price for Barron’s: The Case for Options Trading
• ETPs Turn to Selling Options to Generate Income

Related posts:

• Top Posts of 2012
• Top Posts of 2011
• Top Posts of 2010
• Top Posts of 2009
• Top Posts of 2008
• One Year Blogiversary! (includes top 25 posts of 2007)
• The 1000^th Post
• Five Years of VIX and More
• The Post of the Month: An Informal History of VIX and More

Disclosure(s): none