Neha Joshi

While capital efficiency is nice, the continuous monitoring required for synthetics to maintain that delta-one exposure can be a drag. Sometimes the simplicity of a long-dated call is worth the extra premium.

I've actually had some good success with small, highly targeted plays into earnings on NDX components, but it requires a lot of research and even then, it's still high risk.

Interesting approach. Do you ever consider playing the volatility crush after earnings, or do you find the pre-announcement risk too high to even consider?

I use VIX options, specifically puts on VIX futures, as a small, tactical hedge. They're more capital efficient than futures directly and can offer a decent payout if volatility spikes, without the constant decay of holding futures outright. Key is to keep position size small and not over-rely on it.

I've dabbled in VIX futures for hedging but found the decay a real killer. It feels like you need to be constantly rolling contracts, which eats into any potential benefits unless there's a significant downturn. What's your strategy for managing that decay?