In this paper, we study the implied volatility smirk (IVS) of options written on the FXI, the Financial Times Stock Exchange/Xinhua China 50 Index exchange‐traded fund (ETF). Using the methodology of Zhang and Xiang (2008,
Quant Financ, 8, pp. 263–284), we document the empirical characteristics of the level, slope, and curvature of IVS of the FXI options. We find that, on average, IVS becomes steeper and more convex as time to maturity increases. The level and curvature are usually positive, and the slope is negative. We provide evidence that the information in the quantified IV factors has some predictive power for the future monthly FXI ETF returns.
In this paper, we study the VXX Exchange Traded Note (ETN), that has been actively traded in recent years, but has lost 99.84% of its value. Using Zhang's formula for VIX futures prices, we develop the first theoretical model for the VXX that links the SPX, VIX, and VXX. We show that the roll yield of VIX futures drives the difference between the VXX and VIX returns. The roll yield is a mostly negative process. We then provide a simple yet robust estimation of the market price of variance risk using VXX and VIX futures prices. The model can be used to price VXX options.
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