Quant BuffetRelax, Not Over Thinking

Option Volatility Spread Factor Predicts Option Returns

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Academic paper

Uncertainty of Put-Call Parity Violation and Option Returns

AuthorsChun Liu; Tianyu Wang; Yintian Wang; Hong Xiang

Institute
  • Tsinghua University
  • CAUniversity of Toronto
  • ?Tsinghua University - School of Economics and Management
  • ?Tsinghua University, School of Economics and Management
  • HKHong Kong Polytechnic University
  • ?The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Strategy in a nutshell

Invest in U.S. equity options by sorting on volatility-of-volatility spread (VVS), going long low-VVS and short high-VVS options. Portfolio is equally weighted and rebalanced monthly.

Economic rationale

VVS captures option mispricing due to hedging costs, informed trading, short-sale constraints, and illiquidity. Exploiting VVS allows more precise prediction of option returns than using volatility spread alone.

Backtest performance

Annualised return12.82%
Volatility6.78%
Sharpe ratio1.89
Win rate71%