Monday, February 25, 2013

Book Review: Volatility Trading by Euan Sinclair

I first came across this book a few years back. I didn't put much time and thought on it back then but now that I revisit it, I find that it is actually quite a practical book for anyone who wants to investigate volatility trading.

The book covers a lot of ground, from basic vol trading principles to vol forecasting to hedging and bet sizing. Perhaps you will find that it tries too hard to be comprehensive, so feel free to skip some sections (such as Ch.8 Psychology).


Nonetheless, there are some good parts. In Ch.2 the author talks about different ways to measure volatility (different calculation methodologies, data with different frequencies etc.). These go beyond the most common definition of volatility, and are essential for creating useful and relevant estimators.

Of particular interest is the section on forecasting volatility. Here Sinclair explains the merits and shortcomings of GARCH type models from a practical point of view. The volatility cone is introduced, and although some might find it too heuristic and ad hoc, it does provide a relatively simple and systematic way to bring implied vol and realized vol into comparison.

The chapter on vol surface dynamics is quite weak, which is possibly a price to pay by not including too much theory. However the chapter on hedging is definitely worth a read, as it is not so much a crash course on Greeks calculation, but rather an in-depth investigation on why, what and when to hedge when trying to trade volatility.

http://www.amazon.com/Volatility-Trading-CD-ROM-Wiley/dp/0470181990

No comments:

Post a Comment