Volatility Views 106: HFT and Volatility

Volatility Review: It was a mild week with the VIX around the 13-handle for most of the week. Did premiums increase going into the non-farms announcement, or did the market shrug as with other recent non-farms? March VIX futures rose 20% year-over-year. VIX futures also set a new quarterly volume record when 12.38 million contracts traded, up 35% compared to the first quarter of 2013.

Volatility Voicemail: You direct the conversation

• Question from George - Big fan of the show - been listening for years. I think Jared is a great addition to the panel. There is a lot of talk about HFT firms manipulating stock markets in the wake of the Michael Lewis book Flash Boys. I have seen lots of talk about price manipulation, but I keep coming back to all of your discussions on Volatility Views, and it makes me wonder - why is no one talking about volatility as it relates to HFT? Are the firms adding volatility to the marketplace? Could these firms be responsible for a lot of the vol of vol that we see in the marketplace right now? Particularly in very active name or in some of the volatility ETFs? Keep up the great show!
• Question from EVO16 - I am a regular user of VXX. I have heard you refer repeatedly to the cost of rolling this product and how it negatively impacts holders. Is there anything I as a regular VXX owner can do to minimize this? Are there other ETFs out there that attempt to do this?

Crystal Ball: An outlook for VIX, RVX and VIX ETPs.