VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX ST ETN (TVIX)

[eric4x]

I am reminded of the old song by the band Chicago: "Does anybody really know what time it is?"*

Presumably, those who know the most are also the ones who are making the most money. Some traders are in-and-out day traders, while others believe in buying and holding for some period of time. They argue with each other about how it really works, and how best to play it.*

The only problem with day trading is the need for a 25 thousand dollar minimum in your account, and of course the money it takes to be left with a profit on small price differences, after paying the fees. Those who are just day trading don't really care all that much about the long term, so it doesn't affect them.*

Presumably, it is possible for both buyers and sellers to come out with a profit, if they are holding for different periods of time.*

Bill Luby always says NOT to hold TVIX. The new moderator-assistant, BISer, has pinned a story link at the top to an article by Jeff White, who is of the opposite opinion.*

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=72774810

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/best-hedge-now-volatility-2012-03-02?siteid=yhoof2


Those who favor holding TVIX say, like Jeff White, "Rather than shorting what has been a very strong market, a better approach may be to simply get long volatility." Those who believe a sudden drop is imminent, and who have a margin account, can borrow shares to "sell short." By buying "long volatility," one advantage is that you don't risk a short squeeze. You can just sit back and hold your shares, and if everything else suddenly drops, your volatility shares are supposed to go up.*

rocco2 actually made money by shorting TVIX. In late January, he called his broker and borrowed shares to sell at over 18 dollars, and then covered the short for $16.50;

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=71604739

rocco2 has also provided a link to the nasdaq after-hours price information, which I had never seen before:

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=72019254

http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/tvix/after-hours

Those of us who are still just learning about it have to learn the basics. But everyone follows these newly written articles, and has to keep up with the latest news. The details are explained in bits and pieces, by reading several different articles over a period of time.*

Regarding the claim that a certain percentage of investors don't really know what they're doing, I'd say that nobody knows everything, and everybody makes mistakes. We might say that 100 percent of those buying TVIX don't know 100 percent of what they need to know, in the sense that they don't always get it right.*

I would also like to be in the upper 10%, or the top 1%, but I won't think I'm there until my account balance puts me there.*

Regarding the article by Bill Luby, which rocco2 linked to here:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/401601-etracs-volatility-etps

It was interesting to read the comments underneath:

TG1980 "How can you call TVIX an overnight sensation??? Man, you really want this ETN to go to zero. Keep up the good work publishing stuff daily to protect your short position." 29 Feb, 03:51

jrn0074 "Yay another VIX product. (tepid applause) Can't wait for the 3x ETF based on the inverse ETN based on the obverse 2X ETF based on the options contract based on the futures contract based on the index based on options volatility." 29 Feb, 05:00

And so it goes.*