Retail investors return to the options market in force
Volumes look familiar to anyone who remembers 2021.
The decision-makers involved insist nothing is settled, which is exactly what decision-makers say when something is starting to settle.
A small group of practitioners has been arguing for this approach for years. They are doing their best not to look smug.
The shift did not happen overnight. It accumulated in quiet decisions, small wins, and a handful of unglamorous fixes that no one tweeted about.
Practical effects are already visible on the ground, and they tend to outrun the official analysis by a comfortable margin.
Still, the conversation has changed. The questions in the room are different from the questions in the room six months ago.
Expect the next chapter to be quieter than this one, and more consequential. The loud part is usually the prologue.
