Why I Chose
the VIX

One of the questions I hear most often from prospective investors is:

“Why the VIX?”

It's a great question—and one I genuinely enjoy answering.

Before anyone considers investing with me, I believe they should understand why I chose this path, what attracted me to volatility, and how that journey ultimately became Vich Capital.

This isn't intended to teach you how to trade the VIX or reveal the proprietary methodology I've spent years developing. Instead, it's an opportunity to share how I think about investing, the lessons I've learned over the years, and the philosophy that guides every decision I make today.

What Is the VIX?

In simple terms, the VIX reflects how much movement investors expect in the U.S. stock market over the next 30 days.

Because it often rises during periods of market uncertainty and declines when markets become calmer, it has become widely known as the “Fear Gauge.”

While that nickname is accurate, I believe it tells only part of the story.

To me, the VIX isn't simply a measure of fear. It is a measure of expected market volatility—a real-time reflection of how investors are pricing uncertainty. It doesn't predict whether the market will go up or down, but it provides valuable insight into how much movement investors expect over the coming month.

Why Was the VIX Created?

Before the VIX existed, investors had many ways to measure what the market had already done—stock prices, returns, trading volume, and historical volatility.

What they didn't have was a standardized way to measure what the market expected might happen next.

To address that need, the Chicago Board Options Exchange introduced the VIX in 1993 as a standardized measure of the market's expected 30-day volatility derived from S&P 500 option prices. Today, it has become one of the most widely followed indicators in global financial markets.

The more I learned about the VIX, the more I realized I wasn't just looking at another market indicator.

I was looking at the market through an entirely different lens.

Rather than focusing only on where the market had been, the VIX offered insight into how investors were pricing future uncertainty.

Finding My Edge

The VIX didn't become my strategy overnight. It earned my respect first.

Like many investors, I began by trading stocks and ETFs. I enjoyed researching companies, following the markets, and searching for opportunities.

But over time, I found myself asking a simple question:

Did I really have an edge?

There are thousands of talented analysts, economists, portfolio managers, and institutions dedicating enormous resources to understanding companies and forecasting markets.

Rather than trying to compete in that arena, I wanted to find an area of the market where I could develop a genuine edge through patience, observation, and years of study.

When I first discovered the VIX, I intentionally chose not to trade it.

I respected how quickly it could move and understood that without first understanding its behavior, I would simply be guessing. That wasn't the type of investor I wanted to become.

Instead, I spent months studying its history, how it behaved during different market environments, the products built around it, and why professional investors paid so much attention to it.

As I continued studying volatility, I realized my focus had changed. I was no longer trying to predict whether the stock market would finish higher or lower next month. I realized I didn't need to know where the S&P 500 would finish the year.

Instead, I wanted to understand how volatility behaved under different market conditions. That shift completely changed the way I looked at investing.

Only after earning that understanding did I begin committing meaningful capital.

Looking at the VIX Differently

One of the simplest ways I think about the VIX is through an everyday analogy. Let's compare the VIX to our blood pressure.

Blood pressure is simply a number. By itself, that number doesn't tell a doctor everything about a person's health, but it provides valuable information about what's happening at that moment.

A healthy blood pressure reading like 120/80 is simply a number, and by itself it doesn't tell a doctor everything about a person's health; extremes in either direction tell a story.

If it becomes unusually high—or unusually low—doctors pay closer attention because both extremes may indicate that something isn't quite right. In many cases, blood pressure eventually returns toward a more typical range as the underlying condition improves.

The VIX is similar. It is simply an index—a number that reflects the market's expectation of future volatility.

Like blood pressure, the VIX has historically spent much of its time within a more typical range. During periods of financial stress it can rise dramatically, while periods of unusually low readings may reflect an exceptionally calm or complacent market. Both extremes tell a story.

What attracted me wasn't the number itself—it was understanding what the number was telling me.

Over time, I built my investment philosophy around studying how volatility behaves when the VIX is relatively low, when it becomes elevated, and how different market environments influence those conditions.

The methodology I use today remains proprietary, but the philosophy behind it is simple. Volatility has its own characteristics, patterns, and behavior. The more I studied it, the more I believed it could be approached as its own distinct asset class.

My Investment Philosophy

Over the years, I developed a philosophy that continues to guide every investment decision I make.

Respect risk before pursuing returns.

I've never believed successful investing is about making the most money during the best markets. I believe it's about managing risk well enough to remain disciplined through both favorable markets and challenging ones.

My approach is built on patience, discipline, predefined rules, thoughtful position sizing, and continuous risk management—not emotion or prediction.

• 01Prepare thoroughly.
• 02Stay disciplined.
• 03Respect risk.
• 04Let a repeatable process — not headlines or emotions — guide investment decisions.

Why Volatility Matters in a Portfolio

One of the primary reasons investors use options is to help protect or hedge their portfolios during periods of uncertainty. Likewise, many institutional investors incorporate volatility-related strategies as part of their broader risk management framework.

By combining my understanding of the VIX with defined-risk option strategies, I have developed an investment philosophy designed to complement a traditional portfolio rather than simply replicate it.

I often think of volatility as a form of portfolio insurance.

Just as we insure our homes, our businesses, and our health—not because we expect something to go wrong every day, but because uncertainty is simply part of life—I believe a thoughtfully managed volatility allocation can serve a similar purpose within a diversified investment portfolio.

Why Vich Capital Exists

After years of studying volatility, refining my philosophy, and managing my own capital, I reached a point where I wanted to build something larger than a personal investment strategy.

I built the firm centered on discipline, transparency, alignment with investors, and thoughtful risk management. Vich Capital exists to reflect those same principles.

My objective has never been to convince every investor that volatility is the right investment.

It isn't.

Every investor has different goals, objectives, risk tolerances, and investment horizons.

My goal is much simpler.

I want investors to understand why I chose this path, why I dedicated years to studying volatility before building a fund around it, and how that philosophy shapes every decision I make today.

Whether or not you ultimately become an investor, I hope this has given you a better understanding of why I chose volatility, why I built Vich Capital, and the philosophy that continues to guide every decision I make.