Structure & Term Spreads
Trade the curve & asymmetry
What it is
Multi-leg structures that trade the shape of the vol surface — calendars (sell rich near-dated, buy cheaper longer-dated) and ratio / backspreads for asymmetric exposure.
When it works
A steep term structure worth selling the front of (calendars), or a setup where you want leveraged asymmetry (backspreads) — often around events or low-IV bases.
Why the setup pays
These lean on the term-structure edge dimension — the trade is literally front-vs-back-month IV. DTE involves two expiries. Risk is defined but P&L is sensitive to vol shape, not just direction.
The market it wants
Calm / steep curve. Calendars like calm with a steep curve; backspreads like low IV before an expected vol expansion.
What goes wrong
The vol surface reshapes against you; calendars are short gamma near the short strike; complex to manage.
Where it sits in the book
Structure & Term Spreads belongs to Options Yield & Volatility Arbitrage, the group whose edge comes from peak of the distribution (muted realised variance). That group looks for low-volatility consolidation, range-bound decay, and its risk profile is market-neutral to mildly biased sideways.
Run this on the live market
This is the thesis the engine scans with. It reads the whole universe, scores what matches, and prices the structures against fair value.
front-month rich vs back-month cheap on a steep term structure — calendar spread candidates
No account needed to run it. The free trial runs on the same live data a paid account gets.
Educational material, not investment advice. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to trade any security or structure. Options trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future returns.