Volatility Stays at Record-Setting Pace By Moby Waller About this article: If you are a long premium options trader, volatility is a necessary element for success. If volatility is lacking, time decay (theta) will make this financial instrument even more challenging. These days, volatility is not lacking. In fact, volatility is thriving. For a long premium options trader, there is nothing like having market tailwinds to benefit your strategy. The market has gained 20% since the March 9 bottom and was down over 3% intra-day on Monday; this has obviously been an extremely volatile year. 2009 seems to be even more volatile than 2008, which by our calculation had the highest level of consistent daily volatility in decades. In 2009, stocks have rallied or fallen by a high percentage in a multitude of sessions. It seems almost commonplace that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up or down at least 1% in a day. Volatility can be defined... Or, call us at 1-866-321-TSCM (8726) Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Outside the U.S. and in Canada, call 1-212-321-5200.

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