H&W Walking & The VIX

Nate Crosby |
Categories
health and wealth

One Step at a Time

One of the most overlooked, but effective exercises is walking.  There are many benefits to walking such as:

  • Strengthens your heart
  • Keeps weight in check
  • Improves endurance 
  • Increases energy levels
  • Improves sleep
  • Improves mood
  • Easy on your joints
  • Reduces stress

Have you heard that sitting is the new smoking? Many of us work in an office setting where we spend the majority of our days at our desk. With so many benefits (see above!), we encourage you to get your steps in! Take a break in between tasks and do a lap around the office, go before or after work, and get outside if you can. If you’re an Ashland resident, check out one of our many local parks for some great walking trails. Grab a walking buddy or take in a podcast (Dynamic Growth anyone?!) or audiobook while you get your steps in.

The Fear Index

Have you ever heard of the VIX index? VIX measures expected volatility in the next thirty days using near term option contracts. Option contracts are the ability to buy or sell the S&P 500 index at a predetermined price. VIX then uses a mathematical formula to predict what the market as a whole is expected to do over the next thirty days. If the VIX level is above a 20, the belief is that the market will be volatile (for example, in the Fall of 2008 it was around 80). Many contrarian investors will use the VIX to buy when the index is high and to sit tight or sell when the number is low. At Crosby Advisory, we use the VIX as one of the many pieces of information that goes into our investment strategies. With a 30-day view, the VIX will not typically impact our decisions all that much since we focus on a long-term investment approach.