Discover the best options strategies to benefit from a highly volatile market and whether high volatility is a bullish or bearish sign.
What is Implied Volatility?
Implied volatility is a key concept in options trading that refers to the market's perception of the likely magnitude of price movements in a security. It represents an underlying asset's expected volatility over a specific period and is a critical factor in determining options prices.
For instance, high volatility tends to increase the price of an option, while low volatility decreases it. In this article, we'll explore the strategies that traders can use to profit from high volatility, the types of options most affected by changes in volatility, and the pros and cons of buying options during periods of high volatility.
How Do You Profit from Volatility?
To profit from volatility, traders must determine whether they believe implied volatility will increase or decrease going forward. If a trader thinks volatility will decline, they should trade short volatility strategies like short puts or short strangles. Conversely, if they believe volatility will increase, they can trade long volatility strategies like buying puts or straddles.
Traders can profit from volatility in several ways, including long and short volatility strategies. Long volatility strategies involve buying options to profit from an increase in implied volatility. These strategies are used when traders believe the underlying asset will experience significant price swings.
In contrast, short volatility strategies involve selling options to profit from a decrease in implied volatility. These strategies are used when traders believe the underlying asset will experience less significant price movements.
Which Options are Most Affected by Volatility?
At-the-money (ATM) options are typically the most sensitive to changes in volatility as they have the most extrinsic value and the highest Vega. Extrinsic value is the portion of the option premium that reflects the option's time value, volatility, and other factors. As a result, ATM options tend to have the highest premium values and sensitivity to volatility changes.
In contrast, options that are deep in-the-money or deep out-of-the-money tend to have lower Vega values and are less sensitive to changes in implied volatility. These options have less extrinsic value and are more influenced by the underlying asset's price movements.
Should I Buy Options When Volatility is High?
One of the most common questions options traders ask during periods of high volatility is whether or not they should buy options. There are pros and cons to buying options during high volatility, and traders should carefully consider the risks and benefits before deciding.
The most important factor to consider is whether you believe implied volatility will increase or decrease going forward. When implied volatility is high, option prices are also higher, which is a downside when you want to buy options.
However, option prices are expensive for a reason when volatility is high. The reason is stocks are expected to have larger price swings which benefits option buyers. However, if you buy an option when volatility is high and it declines, your option may lose a significant amount of value, causing you to lose money.
Long Volatility Strategies
Long volatility strategies involve buying options to profit from an increase in implied volatility. These strategies are typically used when traders believe the underlying asset will experience significant price swings. Long volatility strategies can be effective in high volatility environments because they can result in substantial gains if the underlying asset's price moves significantly.
Long Straddle
A long straddle involves buying an ATM call and put option at the same strike price and expiration date. This strategy can be effective when traders believe that the underlying asset will experience significant price movements but are uncertain about the direction of the movement.
Protective Puts
The protective puts strategy involves buying a put option to protect a long stock holding to benefit from an increase in volatility. This strategy can be effective when traders are bullish on a stock but want to protect against potential downside risk.
Short Volatility Strategies
Short volatility strategies involve selling options to profit from a decrease in implied volatility. These strategies are typically used when traders believe the underlying asset will experience less significant price movements.
Short Puts
Short puts involve selling a put option to generate income from options premiums. This strategy can be effective when traders are bullish on a stock and believe that the underlying asset will remain above a certain price level and volatility will decrease.
Short Strangle
A short strangle involves selling a call option and a put option at different strike prices. This strategy can be effective when traders believe that the underlying asset will remain within a certain price range and volatility will decrease.
Is High Volatility A Bullish or Bearish Sign?
The relationship between volatility and market direction is complex and can be difficult to predict. High volatility can generally be interpreted as either bullish or bearish, depending on the context.
When volatility is high, it can be a signal that the market is uncertain or that there is significant disagreement among market participants about the future direction of the underlying asset. This uncertainty can lead to both increased buying and selling pressure, which can result in significant price movements.
From a contrarian point of view, high volatility is a bullish signal as many people will be uncertain about where the market is going, leading to great buying opportunities. To benefit from the uncertainty, traders can sell options or buy stocks when volatility is high.
On the other hand, high volatility can also be interpreted as a bearish signal. For example, if the underlying asset experiences significant price losses during a period of high volatility, it can be a signal that the market is pessimistic about the future direction of the asset.
However, when the implied volatility of the major market indices is high, it is an excellent time for long-term investors to accumulate funds. Volatility in the market is generally temporary, and eventually, the uncertainty will wear off. Traders will often watch the VIX to determine how high the implied volatility of the overall market is.