1/x I think most people look at IVol as a simple mean reverting fxn...They think when IVol is low it’s smart to own it & be hedged & when it’s high it’s smart to sell it...& although there is undeniably a mean reverting process at work, what most don’t understand is that for the
2/x most part over the longterm(since 1990), if you follow this process, you will get into big trouble... Other than a handful of high vol spikes w/ forced buying, when vols are low (think smoothed VIX of <17) it‘s historically, in risk adjusted terms, the most profitable to sell
3/x In effect, the risk adjusted returns of selling vol look like a big “U”, with a handful of highly profitable stressed extreme vol circumstances, paired w/the overwhelming majority of low vol occurrences representing the profitable tales, and the middle range (think VIX 17-30)
4/x representing the less profitable/more risky outcomes. What this effectively means is that for overwhelming majority of the data (with the handful of extreme vol circumstances removed)the relationship between IVol & Risk Premia is inverted. This is counterintuitive to most.
5/x So, now for the obvious question...Why is this?Most studies I’ve read center around the low intrinsic market risk factors in low vol periods & a floor to implied vol in low regimes.& though both these factors clearly have merit, i‘d argue the low risk factors themselves are
6/x themselves examples of low risk premia. My experience tells me, as we saw in 2017 (& I explain in my recent pinned tweet), it is more a fxn of the reflexivity of vol.When IVol is low, markets are inherently stable,& it takes time & sustained RVol to turn liquidity dynamics &
7/x loosen up the market, so it can experience more dramatic shocks. We saw this loosening up of vol on the back of time & sustained rVol which ultimately opened the door for 2020, just as we saw the moves in 2007 open the door for 2008-9 to occur.
8/8 So, if you are new to the game, be aware, a 25 VIX may seem rich historically & be tempting to sell. But history tells us it is ironically, one of the most profitable times to play from the long side.
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📉 AI Is Quietly Squeezing Young Men Out of the Job Market
AI is gutting white-collar fields like tech and consulting where men are overrepresented. Meanwhile, women in healthcare and service roles are holding steady. Unemployment for college‑educated men has jumped significantly even though the overall labor market looks fine on the surface.
This isn't just about jobs. It's about growing resentment, rising inequality, and a potential wave of populism heading into the 2026 election.
The July spike in unemployment wasn’t driven by layoffs, it was driven by new entrants, mostly young job seekers. This includes recent grads, especially college-educated men, entering a market disrupted by AI and slowing demand. The system isn’t absorbing them, it’s rejecting them.
📊Men and Women Work in Different Worlds
Young men cluster in sectors vulnerable to AI disruption: tech, finance. Young women dominate in healthcare and education, which are more insulated from automation and economic shocks. This occupational split explains why unemployment is rising for men, but not women.
Oh, the bubble 🫧 in equities is frightful
But the eventual burst 💥 will be delightful!
But since investors don’t know where else to go,
LET IT BLOW! LET IT BLOW! LET IT BLOW!
It doesn't show signs of stopping 🛑 ,
So, on these vols, calls are likely in for a popping,
With the call Vols turned down low,
LET THEM BLOW! LET THEM BLOW! LET THEM BLOW!
With Elon tweeting all night 💤
How the shorts will get squeezed in the storm ⛈️ ,
But, like Tesla, if you really hold on tight,
Oh the returns you’ll see at the end will be warm!
LAST CHRISTMAS I called for a crash,
But the very next day…vol supply took it away.
This year…I’ll save you the tears,
I'll give you something special…
Once bitten & twice shy,
I keep my distance, but the crash, based on macro, still catches my eye…
Tell me baby, do you recognize the thing supporting SPU’s?
Well, it's been a year of limitless structured product flows…It shouldn’t surprise you.
Happy Christmas, the banks structured it & sold it.
With a note saying "It’s better than the market!" & They meant it.
Now, I know, it seems what a fool shorts have been…
But if you unpinned Volatility on a blowoff top, I know the macro landscape would tempt me again…
Last Christmas, populism, war & fiscal had me call for a crash,
But the very next day, vol supply took it away…
This year, hasn’t muted those fears,
& may still give us something special.
Storm sirens🚨 ring, R U listening?
In the gutter, cheap equity skew is a-glistening!
A beautiful sight.
We're lucky🍀 tonight.
Trading vol in a coming winter wonderland.
Gone away is the call squeeze…
Next up comes the put squeeze!
To sing a calm song
While most PM’s puke🤮their longs
Trading vol in a coming winter wonderland!
In the crash, we can build a long,man!
We'll pretend that we r J.P.Getty
We'll say ‘R U offered?’
They'll say ‘Yeah man!’
But we’ll separate the baby from the bath when SPU’s R down!
Later on, we'll conspire,
As we count our 💰, amidst the fire 🔥 ,
To face new longs, unafraid,
With the sound portfolio that we've made,
Trading vol in the coming winter wonderland…
In the crash, we can build a long, man!
We'll pretend that we are J.Paul Getty.
1/X If U R 👀 TODAYS’ PUBLIC REMOVAL OF FORMER 🇨🇳 PRES. HU JINTAO IN DISBELIEF👇 A brief🔬 into the childhood & upbringing of Xi Jinping by @NewYorker: “(Xi Jinping’s) father, Xi Zhongxun,🇨🇳’s propaganda minister @ the time, had been fomenting revolution since the age of 14, when
2/X he & classmates tried to poison a teacher whom they considered a counterrevolutionary.He was sent to jail, where he joined the Communist Party. Eventually he became a high-ranking commander, which plunged him into the Party’s internal feuds. In 1935, a rival faction accused
3/X Xi’s father of disloyalty & ordered him to be buried alive, but Mao defused the crisis…When Xi Jinping was 5, his father was promoted to Vice-Premier, & his son often visited him @ Zhongnanhai, the secluded compound for top leaders.Xi was admitted to the exclusive August 1st
1/x In a 🌎 of secular inflation, the proper response to 📈 in demand is to 📈 supply. U currently👂a lot of talk about this, as it relates to commodities. But what about labor costs?? As protectionism grows, we are increasingly turning away the exact supply we need most of all.
2/x“Unfortunately, the H-1B process is falling increasingly out of date & badly failing to serve its original purpose of turning on the talent tap for top innovative companies. Congress sets an annual cap on how many H-1B visa holders can come in, & that cap is now far below what
3/x the labor market demands. The crush of applications once the 🪟 opens for a given year on March 1 is so intense that, in every year since 2014, USCIS has (had to) resorted to a lottery system. That means that year in & year out, 100,000’s of high-skilled workers from abroad