​Daily Wrap – VIX, S&P Correlations; Insurance Firms Targeting Multi-Duration

What to do when the VIX and the SPX are doing the same thing? Some say you should believe the VIX and hedge, while others think the VIX isn’t really that great at predicting the future at all. It may sound like a hypothetical scenario, but according to the CBOE it’s happened 14% of each trading day so far in 2015. We also take a peek at the latest with fixed index annuities. It seems some actuaries are pinning their hopes on multi-duration crediting strategies as hedge budgets continue to decline due to the low interest rate environment. Meanwhile, Midland is out with a new suite of annuities that allow the user to tweak crediting methods, following on the heels of two other firms earlier in the month. It’s all in the name of diversification, supposedly.