Volatility Views 138: The Action Is In Oil

Volatility Review: The week in vol

VIX Cash: High: 14.75 - Low: 12.09
VIX Options: Total 5.71M (3.84M Calls, 1.86M Puts). VIX shunned as few bumps seen for S&P 500 at years end.
International Vol review: Its official - America is now No. 2
Oil Volatility: Oil futures slide on Saudi price cut to U.S.
Gold Volatility: Hard to be a bull in this gold market.

Listener Mail: Listener questions and comments

Question from Michael Roberts - I came across your program while looking for new diversification options for my clients. I find your suggestions about collars and protective puts very interesting. I have also been reading new research about volatility itself being positioned as an alternative asset class. This leads me to two questions:

1. Do you agree that volatility is an asset class?

2. What is the best process to gain exposure to that asset class for my clients? Is simply buying an options with a substantial vega component sufficient, or must I purchase a dedicated volatility asset such as VIX options or an ETF life VXX?

Question from Joe Hill - SPY vs SPX vs e-Mini Options Question. Hello from Georgia. I know that these products are supposed to be similar from an implied volatility perspective, but how similar are they really? After all, they are distinct products, each with its own volume and customer flow. Do they all trade in a similar fashion, or are there times when these products will exhibit discrepancies. Last - Can we get a show on just commodity vol on of these days? Thanks for your time.