Welcome to SteadyVol

[ICT 3]

How did the strategy perform since November 2023, when VIX spent most of the time around 12-14 range. 

[SBatch 2,222]

1 minute ago, ICT said:

How did the strategy perform since November 2023, when VIX spent most of the time around 12-14 range. 

[Bullfighter 125]

If you look at the CBOE fee schedule, it is complicated, depending on adding or substracting liquidity and other variables, plus the traded product (RUT, VIX, SPX, etc.). It seems most brokers are passing the maximum common exchange fee for the product regardless of situation. However, it looks like TOS does a precise passthrough. In this example in one of my accounts, misc fees is the sum of exchange and regulatory fees and commissions is what TDA/Schwab charges. When going long a vertical spread, they are charging 32.64 cents per contract. When going short a vertical spread, they charged 18 cents. When going long a single, they charged 25 cents. In any case, always less than 45 cents. In the case of SPX options, it comes up to 52 cents.



Obviously, you are still better off at Firsttrade even if they pass 49 cents towards exchange and regulatory fees, provided fills are comparable. I know for options traded on multiple exchanges (stocks and ETFs), is is advantageous to get filled on IBKR or TDA even if they charge fees because there's less slippage. I don't think there's a difference in slippage in single exchange traded options like SPX of VIX.
  

[SBatch 2,222]

Just now, Bullfighter said:

If you look at the CBOE fee schedule, it is complicated, depending on adding or substracting liquidity and other variables, plus the traded product (RUT, VIX, SPX, etc.). It seems most brokers are passing the maximum common exchange fee for the product regardless of situation. However, it looks like TOS does a precise passthrough. In this example in one of my accounts, misc fees is the sum of exchange and regulatory fees and commissions is what TDA/Schwab charges. When going long a vertical spread, they are charging 32.64 cents per contract. When going short a vertical spread, they charged 18 cents. When going long a single, they charged 25 cents. In any case, always less than 45 cents. In the case of SPX options, it comes up to 52 cents.



Obviously, you are still better off at Firsttrade even if they pass 49 cents towards exchange and regulatory fees, provided fills are comparable. I know for options traded on multiple exchanges (stocks and ETFs), is is advantageous to get filled on IBKR or TDA even if they charge fees because there's less slippage. I don't think there's a difference in slippage in single exchange traded options like SPX of VIX.
  

Firstrade also does a straight pass-thru. It has amounted to about .30 per contract over the last year.

[Bullfighter 125]

According to Firstrade's website, they trade quotes in increments of 5 cents if the premium is under $3 and 10 cents if the premium is over $3. For VIX that is ridiculous, especially if they don't do price improvement on fills. I have placed VIX orders at $3.34, $1.14 or $0.39 which got filled with TOS. If that is the case, it totally negates the fee advantage of Firstrade. https://help.en-us.firstrade.com/article/173-in-what-price-increments-are-equity-and-index-options-quoted

[SBatch 2,222]

9 minutes ago, Bullfighter said:

According to Firstrade's website, they trade quotes in increments of 5 cents if the premium is under $3 and 10 cents if the premium is over $3. For VIX that is ridiculous, especially if they don't do price improvement on fills. I have placed VIX orders at $3.34, $1.14 or $0.39 which got filled with TOS. If that is the case, it totally negates the fee advantage of Firstrade. https://help.en-us.firstrade.com/article/173-in-what-price-increments-are-equity-and-index-options-quoted

All brokers are required to offer price improvement, and FT is no different. It fills below the limit if it is there. ALL brokers fill the same on VIX options, as they only trade on the CBOE.

[Jlproperties 3]

I’m sitting here reading you guys post about all these sky high commission rates.  I use E*trade and only get charged $.10/contract.  Am I missing something?  Why use IB or any of those other expensive brokers when you can use E*Trade?

[Kim 7,475]

2 minutes ago, Jlproperties said:

I’m sitting here reading you guys post about all these sky high commission rates.  I use E*trade and only get charged $.10/contract.  Am I missing something?  Why use IB or any of those other expensive brokers when you can use E*Trade?

Including VIX options?

[J10 22]

3 minutes ago, Jlproperties said:

I’m sitting here reading you guys post about all these sky high commission rates.  I use E*trade and only get charged $.10/contract.  Am I missing something?  Why use IB or any of those other expensive brokers when you can use E*Trade?

Not everyone lives in the United States.

[Jlproperties 3]

Yes, $.10/contract for all contracts

[Jlproperties 3]

2 minutes ago, J10 said:

Not everyone lives in the United States.

Most of the people talking about commissions live in the US

[J10 22]

3 minutes ago, Jlproperties said:

Most of the people talking about commissions live in the US

Hmm, we must be looking at different posts then.

[SBatch 2,222]

29 minutes ago, Jlproperties said:

Yes, $.10/contract for all contracts

E*Trade standard pricing is .50-.65 per contract depending upon volume. I believe they also pass thru the reg fees.

[Jlproperties 3]

7 minutes ago, SBatch said:

E*Trade standard pricing is .50-.65 per contract depending upon volume. I believe they also pass thru the reg fees.

It’s negotiable. I was with Options House long before E*trade took over and I negotiated with them.

[ixero@20 117]

On 2/5/2024 at 10:59 AM, J10 said:

Have many people been following this strategy using IBKR for a while? Is it still decently profitable, or do IB commissions make it not worthwhile? I'd be interested to hear input from those stuck using Interactive Brokers. Thanks!

It's not worthwhile with IBKR in my opinion too. Small variance from the official fills will quickly move the trades into losing territory. Most of the time commission to roll CPS will be more than credit collected.

For myself, I am trying to paper trade it now with only DPS and 2 Call Hedges for each 10 spreads. Not much to share yet as I just started in January. Also I use official trades as a guidance, but my own trades are slightly different. 

[SBatch 2,222]

8 hours ago, Jlproperties said:

It’s negotiable. I was with Options House long before E*trade took over and I negotiated with them.

Yes, many brokers will negotiate based upon the individual investor. However, we are discussing base rates available to everyone.

[Kim 7,475]

Tradier recent pricing change is a game changer for those who cannot trade with FirstTrade. No more excuses.

[J10 22]

Sadly neither are available here, and IBKR remains the only option. Good deal for those that can take advantage, however.

[beeewell 1]

For the Steady Vol trades, is Firstrade a better choice than Tradier? Any advantages or disadvantages to one vs. the other? Thanks in advance for any responses.

[J10 22]

On 2/5/2024 at 1:48 PM, greenspan76 said:

Hard to say because there were some entries I refused to budge $0.01 to $0.02 and ended up missing out on that portion of the trade.

 

On 2/6/2024 at 10:44 PM, ixero@20 said:

It's not worthwhile with IBKR in my opinion too. Small variance from the official fills will quickly move the trades into losing territory.

@ixero@20 @greenspan76 Out of curiosity, how quickly were you able to react to the official alerts? Was it difficult to get official fills right when the alerts came out, or a bit later? Thanks!

[greenspan76 300]

29 minutes ago, J10 said:

 

@ixero@20 @greenspan76 Out of curiosity, how quickly were you able to react to the official alerts? Was it difficult to get official fills right when the alerts came out, or a bit later? Thanks!

Probably about half the time, I can enter the order within a minute of the official alert, but the other half it varies wildly. When I entered trades immediately after the alert, I almost always got the same price. When I couldn't enter immediately, I almost always got within $0.01 of the official price. Really, the only times where you can't get within $0.01 of the official price seems to be when VIX just happens to be in the early part of a rapid move when the official trade is opened/closed.

[J10 22]

On 10/11/2023 at 5:33 PM, SBatch said:

For those not trading with Firstrade, there is a way to reduce commissions. The credit put spread can be replaced with additional calls to provide similar protection, while substantially reducing commissions. In this case, one would be typically trading a little over 100 contracts per month total. Considering our 4%-5% target monthly gain, the net profit would still be quite compelling.

@SBatch

How would this impact adjustments? It's my understanding that the CPS is rolled while in the trade. If someone is skipping the CPS and instead taking an additional call, what adjustments are done mid trade?

Also, do you have any data or insight on how the overall performance is affected when going this route?

Thanks.

[Carstensentm 1]

On 1/24/2024 at 10:06 AM, Saab340b said:

Hi just wondering if this can be traded in a Roth account?  Does the recommended broker allow that?

I would also like to know; If I start a firsttrade account, I'm having difficulty mapping out existing trades against firsttrades Roth IRA trade restrictions. Is steady volatility a good idea for a Roth?

[SBatch 2,222]

3 hours ago, J10 said:

@SBatch

How would this impact adjustments? It's my understanding that the CPS is rolled while in the trade. If someone is skipping the CPS and instead taking an additional call, what adjustments are done mid trade?

Also, do you have any data or insight on how the overall performance is affected when going this route?

Thanks.

Adjustments would be made when the call is adjusted on the official trade. I can't really speculate on the difference in performance too much. It is definitely less flexible this way and likely to underperform, but if commissions are dropping returns to a certain level it likely becomes the better option.

[SteadyRandy 1]

On 2/29/2024 at 10:37 AM, Carstensentm said:

I would also like to know; If I start a firsttrade account, I'm having difficulty mapping out existing trades against firsttrades Roth IRA trade restrictions. Is steady volatility a good idea for a Roth?

IMO, the Firstrade Roth or regular IRA is not suitable with SteadyVol considering the following information:

 

STEADY OPTIONS
ITM debit and credit spreads on front and back month VIX futures hedged by a ratio of long calls

FIRSTRADE GENERAL 
Which option trading/investing strategies do you provide?

Currently we support writing Covered Calls (including Roll Forward), writing Cash-Secured Equity Puts, purchasing Calls & Puts; as well as Spreads & Straddles, Butterfly & Condor (including Iron Condors); and writing Uncovered Puts.

Please note that at this time we do not support Calendar & Diagonal Spreads on Index Options. 

FIRSTRADE IRA
What types of investments are eligible for my IRA account?

You can invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, CDs, and options (write Covered calls, write Cash-Secured Equity Puts and purchase Calls & Puts only) just like a regular cash account. 

However, the use of margin is not allowed for IRA accounts.

 

[Kim 7,475]

I think most brokers won't allow options spreads in retirement accounts.

[jbesr1230 3]

Is there an update on -steadyvol-managed-fund?

 

[SBatch 2,222]

20 hours ago, jbesr1230 said:

Is there an update on -steadyvol-managed-fund?

 

Unfortunately, I am still waiting on the final approval from the Secretary of State. The attorney is currently working on providing some final documentation that was requested. I am hoping for a launch date of 4/1, but I will update everyone as soon as I can.

[billave 23]

Scott,

Not a problem.   Better to not to rush.  

Best to take your time to do it right, even if it take an extra few weeks.

Thanks for your efforts.

Bill Avellone

 

[Kragart 15]

Is it viable to trade Steadyvol with Robinhood?  They seem to offer no commissions on options, only exchange fees.  I have an Interactive account but am considering moving to somewhere with low or no fees, easy cash movement, and substantial size / reputation, so RH seems to fit that bill.

Curious if anyone trades any of the Steadyoptions services on Robinhood, what are your thoughts?

[SBatch 2,222]

13 hours ago, Kragart said:

Is it viable to trade Steadyvol with Robinhood?  They seem to offer no commissions on options, only exchange fees.  I have an Interactive account but am considering moving to somewhere with low or no fees, easy cash movement, and substantial size / reputation, so RH seems to fit that bill.

Curious if anyone trades any of the Steadyoptions services on Robinhood, what are your thoughts?

I have not used RH, but as long as they are using a true exchange fee pass thru, they would be a good option.

[bestjax 5]

Scott, is it fair to assume that the fund will not launch before May 1 ?  I am sure we will close the April positions in the next few days and I like to get a sense where I need to have my funds for the next round.

[SBatch 2,222]

3 minutes ago, bestjax said:

Scott, is it fair to assume that the fund will not launch before May 1 ?  I am sure we will close the April positions in the next few days and I like to get a sense where I need to have my funds for the next round.

My best estimate is a mid April launch. I do intend to close the April spread tomorrow, however I’m not going to open the May trade tomorrow. I see a pretty solid spike in Treasury yields in the next two weeks, which I believe will add to vol. I’m going to continue to hold the CPS and monitor markets before opening the May DPS.

[kirkr1517 108]

I am a returning subscriber. Long story short I couldn't get my emotions out of the way in the past. Here's my question;

I use Tastytrade and they have a maximum $10 per leg no matter the contracts for stock options. Would this work well with SteadyVol due to the larger quantity of contracts?

[pbuuck 2]

30 minutes ago, kirkr1517 said:

I am a returning subscriber. Long story short I couldn't get my emotions out of the way in the past. Here's my question;

I use Tastytrade and they have a maximum $10 per leg no matter the contracts for stock options. Would this work well with SteadyVol due to the larger quantity of contracts?

I use Tastytrade as well. Unfortunately their $10 max does not apply to VIX - you will pay $1 commission for every VIX position you open. Overall they are pretty expensive for this system, but I am using them for convenience right now while I consider a long term alternative. It's still a profitable system though.

[Kim 7,475]

https://tastytrade.com/commissions-and-fees/

 

[kirkr1517 108]

Thanks for the fee list Kim.  I guess I missed that part.  You wouldn't know if that $.65 per contract is only for opening, or if it's for both opening and closing?  

[kirkr1517 108]

8 minutes ago, kirkr1517 said:

Thanks for the fee list Kim.  I guess I missed that part.  You wouldn't know if that $.65 per contract is only for opening, or if it's for both opening and closing?  

Well I looked at Tastytrade's site a little more.  It looks like the $.65 per contract for trading the VIX is both directions, plus you still have to pay the $1 per contract with a $10 max per leg.  I'm thinking they aren't the best solution for higher contracts trades with the VIX.

[Kim 7,475]

21 minutes ago, kirkr1517 said:

Well I looked at Tastytrade's site a little more.  It looks like the $.65 per contract for trading the VIX is both directions, plus you still have to pay the $1 per contract with a $10 max per leg.  I'm thinking they aren't the best solution for higher contracts trades with the VIX.

Looks like it, yes. Why not to try Tradier?

[kirkr1517 108]

2 minutes ago, Kim said:

Looks like it, yes. Why not to try Tradier?

I think I will need to look at other options, like Tradier.  

[Kim 7,475]

Honestly, I don't really understand why people don't switch to Tradier. Zero commissions, one of the lowest VIX fees, excellent customer service, competitive execution etc. If I wasn't in Canada, I would switch a long time ago.

[InvestTrader 15]

3 minutes ago, Kim said:

If I wasn't in Canada, I would switch a long time ago.

Tradier only works for US clients?

[Kim 7,475]

https://steadyoptions.com/forums/forum/topic/3318-tradier-brokerage-special-offer/

[greenspan76 300]

35 minutes ago, Kim said:

Honestly, I don't really understand why people don't switch to Tradier. Zero commissions, one of the lowest VIX fees, excellent customer service, competitive execution etc. If I wasn't in Canada, I would switch a long time ago.

I keep hearing about how Tradier has lower commissions on VIX now, but the trades I've placed since it was announced on SO have been charged the same commissions as before. Are you supposed to contact them to get the lower commissions or it was only for new accounts?

Edited March 28 by greenspan76

[NJ_KenRob 157]

2 minutes ago, greenspan76 said:

I keep hearing about how Tradier has lower commissions on VIX now, but the trades I've placed since it was announced on SO have been charged the same commissions as before. Are you supposed to contact them to get the lower commissions or it was only for new accounts?

I contacted them and they updated my fee schedule...

[Kim 7,475]

2 minutes ago, greenspan76 said:

I keep hearing about how Tradier has lower commissions on VIX now, but the trades I've placed since it was announced on SO have been charged the same commissions as before. Are you supposed to contact them to get the lower commissions or it was only for new accounts?

Yes, please contact them by email.

[NJ_KenRob 157]

@SBatch I think you mentioned you were going to wait a bit in opening the May trade. Are you still looking at the same short? 16?

[SBatch 2,222]

3 minutes ago, NJ_KenRob said:

@SBatch I think you mentioned you were going to wait a bit in opening the May trade. Are you still looking at the same short? 16?

Likely so, unless we get a decent move higher in vol. That certainly is a possibility if rates do move sharply higher. We're still very early in the cycle, so waiting until the middle of next week, won't be giving up much if anything.

[jroback 5]

Looks like those of us on ToS will move to a zero-commission structure when accounts move to Schwab. Should be more equivalent to the package that Tradier offers. Time will tell whether fills and customer service get worse with that change, however. 

[Vkleniko 14]

10 minutes ago, jroback said:

Looks like those of us on ToS will move to a zero-commission structure when accounts move to Schwab. Should be more equivalent to the package that Tradier offers. Time will tell whether fills and customer service get worse with that change, however. 

Are you referring to options commissions going to 0 post move to Schwab??