Skew notes that survive a committee meeting
Writing about skew so risk committees can act without translating trader shorthand.
Skew conversations die in committees when the language stays tribal. Part of our monitoring retainer is translating wing behaviour into statements a non-trading stakeholder can still challenge.
Prefer comparisons over jargon
“Twenty-five delta risk reversal richer than the prior month’s average” travels further than a stack of unexplained smile charts. We still show the smile; we lead with the comparison and with what it means for the hedges already on.
Tie every chart to a mandate limit
If a committee cares about drawdown under a five-percent spot shock, the skew note should speak to that shock. Decorative surfaces without a mandate hook get cut from our weekly pack.
Keep a mild dissent visible
When our reading conflicts with the desk’s preferred narrative, we say so in one short paragraph. Committees trust notes that admit tension more than notes that only confirm the trade already on.