Rethinking Risk Management: Avoid Surprise, Not Risk

The Interview ·
Featuring Brett Friedman and Michael B. Miller

Published on: June 29th, 2020 • Duration: 51 minutes

With recent market moves like the VIX spiking from 15 to 80 in a matter of weeks or oil futures trading at preposterous negative levels, taking even the most experienced professionals by surprise, many individuals and firms lucky enough to have avoided total collapse are rethinking their approach to risk management. In this interview, risk management consultants Brett Friedman of Winhall Risk Analytics and Michael Miller of Northstar Risk reexamine the recent carnage, with a particular focus on how variance swaps got a handful of sophisticated investors with well-established risk management practices in a world of trouble. Together they discuss why systematic vol selling has become the flavor of the day, debate whether these complex products are suitable for pension funds regardless of their sophistication, and put forward the idea that unbiased post-mortem trade analysis is as important for winning trades as it is for losing ones. Filmed on June 23, 2020.