Just like most humans (monozygotic twins excluded) are not created equals, most VIX futures based exchange-traded products (ETPs) are not equal (At the time of writing this post, there were 43 primary listed ETPs). While there are a number of distinctions and I will attempt to highlight the key areas, but first the few common [...]
The Other Side of VIX
The last three months saw the VIX spot dropped quickly from 30-ish to 10-ish. No wonder XIV, the inverse ETN to the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index, was among the top performing ETPs in January. Its return was 30.88% in January 2012 and 14.02% in December 2011. S&P Indices General Disclaimer XIV collects daily [...]