Determinants of Implied Volatility Movements in Equity Options

This book introduces the idea of volatility as an asset class. Implied Volatility for individual U.S. Stocks are examined extensively. The first chapter defines the notion of implied volatility movements and its interaction with fundamental variables related to the underlying stocks. The second chapter introduces a stochastic implied volatility model for U.S. Stocks and shows how most stocks react to one easily measured common factor. This factor is very robust and liquid to trade. The final chapter examines the risk premia in straddle returns and how to hedge an options portfolios implied volatility risk.