[tbrock]

I used to trade volatility and conventional wisdom is definitely not that the Vix is always quiet.

The phrase I always heard and said is “we are picking up nickels in front of a steamroller” in reference to shorting implied Vol. Everyone knows this is bound to happen.

Although, the trick is that over a long enough time horizon implied volatility is higher than realized. People are unnaturally scared of movement in the market.

There are books published and read by almost all traders about this very event by Nick Taleb.