iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX)

[DrContango]

Zacks on VXX:


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/inside-volatility-etf-crash-rebound-222124291.html

several excerpts:

"Arguably one of the most important factors to consider when investing in volatility is the futures curve. That is because products like VXX much roll their exposure from month to month and thus are subject to the forces of contango (upward sloping curve) and backwardation (downward or favorable sloping curve).

When there is a lot of contango in the market, it can create a roll hurdle that is tough to overcome for many volatility products. Unfortunately, this is pretty much the case for VXX right now, especially if you look at the current futures curve"


"And given the lack of geopolitical issues out there as well as market moving events, we could definitely see volatility trend for a little bit longer. If this is the case, a short term bet on volatility might still work out, but a longer term play is still ill-advised; just because volatility ETFs and ETNs have fallen doesn’t mean they are due for a rebound, especially when the futures curve is against them."