Great discussion. Of course it is possible to have your cake and...

Great discussion.

Of course it is possible to have your cake and eat it too...to some degree anyway.

I hedge my long term US portfolio using a combination of a very small quantity of VXX, a ladder of debit put spreads and a ladder of credit call spreads on SPX, and some covered call writing on existing positions. It's a bit of effort to maintain but helps me sleep better at night and it's very profitable in times of high volatility like now.

I also have a small spec portfolio that I use to back my judgement on the macro picture. Like you Hera, I have a keen interest in following local and global economic trends. If i can make a few quid on the side for fun then it makes it all the more interesting. As mentioned above, i'm very tentatively scaling in short now. Happy to be stopped out, but will ramp up if the monthly charts confirm.