Volatility Views 27: Stealing the Mean

Volatility Views 27: Stealing the Mean Volatility Review: A bit of a roller coaster ride with the S&P 500 and VIX -- A general rally in the broad market and a resulting sell-off in the VIX going into this weekend. Don gives a review of the ever-unfolding and crazy world of Euro vol. Plus, Mark Sebastian's week in review. Volatility Viewpoint: A continuation of the discussion about skew, kurtosis, etc. Why don't we remove the mean in our volatility formula and why doing it this way is a better hedge for options traders. Listener Mailbag: Volatility Trading for RetailHi Guys: I imagine I am one of the many retail options traders who regularly tune into your program, even though much of it is way over my head. I've heard you guys discuss delta neutral trading in the past. My question is whether you think this is an appropriate strategy for retail options traders to adopt. Is it viable to trade delta neutral with a regular online brokerage account these days? Also, I know Mark Longo has said on previous programs that retail tends to be directionally oriented and professionals trade vol. I'm sure that's the case for a reason. Why do you think so many retail traders fall into the directional vs. vol camp? Thanks for the show. I'm learning something new every week -Facebook question from Dabney K, Ontario, Canada. New VolContractsDon's hinted at new vol contracts coming soon on equity indices. Will these utilize the same formula as the euro or will there be slight tweaks for the different underlyings? - Twitter question from Oseo Crystal Ball: Mark Sebastian weighs in on the upcoming week. Also, an outlook of Euro vol for the remainder of October.