The Profitability of Volatility Trading on Exchange-traded Dollar-rupee Options: Evidence of a Volatility Risk Premium?

This article examines the profitability of short volatility strategies in the exchange-traded USDINR options market. Returns from delta-hedged short positions in straddles, strangles and individual call and put options are examined across different trading horizons and volatility regimes. The study finds that short volatility strategies yield significant mean and median returns regardless of the trading horizon and option moneyness before considering transaction costs. This is suggestive of a volatility risk premium priced in USDINR options. However, the returns are found to be insignificant and even negative after accounting for trading costs such as bid-ask spreads and brokerage. The study concludes that although USDINR options appear to be overpriced because of the volatility risk premium, short option strategies can be profitably exploited only by market makers and institutional investors facing low spreads and funding costs. The findings are suggestive of an informationally efficient market.