Chart of SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF, generally corresponds to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500 Index):
Chart of the VIX (CBOE SPX Volatility Index):
On Feb 28, 2011, when the SPY was trading at 132.64 and the VIX was trading at 19.04, we initiated the following positions:
1) Buy the March Quarterly 132/129 Put Spread on SPY for 0.95 for a potential Max gain of 2.05 (minus commissions) if SPY trades at or below 129-strike by March 31, 2011.
2) Buy the March 20/24 VIX Call Spread for 0.85 for a potential Max gain of 3.15 if VIX trades above 24 by March expiration.
Both the trades must have helped you protect your portfolio during the past couple of weeks of choppy trading.
It is interesting to note that the S&P500 closed below its 50-day MA today. The VIX closed right under its 200-day MA (remember: S&P500 and VIX have opposite behavior). Tomorrow is going to be an extremely interesting trading day. If the market can not pull back up from here, it may test the 1275-level on SPX (SPY 127.5). So monitor your positions properly.