ASYMMETRY® Observations are Mike Shell’s observations of all things asymmetry, asymmetric risk/reward, asymmetric payoffs, and asymmetric investment returns.
BREADTH THRUST: As of April 24, 2025, all three major Bullish Percent Indexes have confirmed significant upward reversals in participation, with the Nasdaq Bullish Percent exploding higher in a breadth thrust.
The VIX futures curve continues to send a clear message: volatility remains elevated, and the market still expects it to fade—but not just yet.
To compound capital efficiently over time, downside risk must be actively mitigated. The key to long-term wealth creation isn’t just capturing upside—it’s protecting capital through asymmetric risk/reward positioning and strict portfolio risk exposure limits.
The market’s internal breadth collapse has intensified. While we are not yet seeing clear signals of reversal, the structure beneath the surface is setting up the conditions where asymmetric opportunity may form.
The stock market indexes are in bear market territory, with the S&P 500 down ~18% and Nasdaq ~21% from their highs two months ago. Here we share a recap of our tactical trading observations since the market peak to get a sense of how we mitigated the carnage.
Our focus is on the direction, momentum, and volatility of trends, not headlines and tariff predictions.
On April 3, 2025, the S&P 500 fell 4.8%, but the VIX only hit 30—well below the historical average. This volatility underreaction may signal underpriced risk and create asymmetric trading opportunities through long volatility setups.
Rather than just observing price trends at the index level, breadth gives us insight into the underlying participation driving (or failing to drive) those moves. When breadth deteriorates, it signals internal weakness—and in some cases, sets the stage for asymmetric opportunities.
Reflexivity is more than a Soros buzzword—it’s a market structure principle that helps explain both bubbles and crashes, trend persistence, and volatility clusters.
Systematic flows can move markets far more than headlines. Recognizing the impact of volatility-targeting strategies, CTA trend signals, and leveraged ETF rebalancing allows traders to step into the chaos with a defined edge.