​Daily Wrap – Monetizing VIX Skew Spike; Traders Tip VIX At 13

Many are wondering exactly what this week’s spike in S&P and VIX skew means, if anything, for their strategies. We understand some investors today were willing to sell puts struck below the intraday low on August 24th in a bid to leverage their exposure on the upside for a near zero out-of-pocket cost by selling puts and buying calls on the SPY and SPX. Artemis’ Chris Cole says investors should resist the urge to buy outright optionality or short volatility and monetize the recent VIX skew spike. Also in the U.S., we report on the efforts of Precidian and Eaton Vance to launch non-transparent actively managed exchange-traded funds, which could spur a new crop of ETFs based on options strategies, while in Chicago, where hope springs eternal thanks to the Cubs, a trader thinks the VIX could return to 13 by the end of this year, after heightened volatility in August and September.