CI Volatility uses proprietary algorithms to navigate market uncertainty, providing investors with a new approach to potential returns.
In financial markets, crashes happen all the time. No matter how sophisticated your portfolio appears, or how calm the environment appears, it’s not a question of if, but when the next crash occurs. And when it does, portfolios get decimated while investors scramble for cover. Someone has to figure out how to protect portfolios when they do. Fortunately, Ali Zandi has built an entire framework around that reality.
CI Volatility, the specialized volatility strategy fund founded by Zandi, is challenging traditional investment strategies. By using proprietary trading algorithms, the fund attempts to turn market crashes, from something to be afraid of, into a strategic tool which generates uncorrelated returns when markets fluctuate.
Zandi’s journey from Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur to financial market innovator is one of adaptation, bold thinking, and a commitment to reshaping the way volatility is integrated into investment strategies.
From Tech Founder to Market Innovator
Before his venture into finance, Zandi’s entrepreneurial career was rooted in technology. In 2013, at just 29, he co-founded a business messaging platform that was ahead of its time. Long before platforms like Facebook Messenger for Business or Slack rose to prominence, Zandi’s company carved out a niche in the communications sector. Within just two years, the company was acquired, positioning Zandi as a trendspotter and operator who could execute bold ideas effectively.
After the acquisition, Zandi grew disillusioned with traditional investing methods. While stocks, bonds, and the classic 60/40 portfolio strategy were conventional approaches, he recognized the financial world was evolving. He realized that market volatility wasn’t just a challenge to avoid, it was a tangible factor that could be integrated into an investment strategy with the right tools and approach.
“The 60/40 portfolio was designed for a different market environment,” Zandi says. “In 2022, stocks and bonds fell together. The diversification many investors relied on disappeared. That wasn’t an anomaly, it was a signal that things needed to change. In general, Diversification protects you least when you need it most“.
This realization inspired Zandi to create CI Volatility, a fund designed not to trade stocks or bonds, but to profit from the complexities of volatility itself.
Rethinking Volatility as a Strategy
The fund employs a range of sophisticated strategies, including directional volatility positioning, volatility carry trades, and mean reversion tactics. These strategies are designed to navigate various market environments, whether the market is trending upward, facing a sharp downturn, or moving sideways. Rather than merely reacting to market movements, CI Volatility Fund aims to anticipate and exploit volatility patterns, capturing opportunities regardless of the market’s direction.
CI Volatility Fund distinguishes itself from other strategies with its research-driven approach. While many investment strategies focus on traditional metrics like earnings reports or stock valuations, CI Volatility prioritizes market behavior, specifically how volatility behaves and how it can be harnessed as a distinct driver of uncorrelated returns.
“We don’t base our decisions on traditional things like earnings,” Zandi explains. “We focus on understanding the market’s perceived uncertainty and using it to inform our strategy.”
By focusing on volatility itself, rather than the underlying assets, CI Volatility Fund creates returns that are often uncorrelated with traditional asset classes like stocks and bonds, allowing investors to diversify their portfolios and access new sources of potential returns.
Algorithmic Innovation: A New Era of Volatility Trading
The latest evolution of CI Volatility has brought volatility trading into the algorithmic era. With the integration of proprietary trading algorithms, the firm has developed a more systematic approach to identify and capture volatility mispricings, taking advantage of market inefficiencies that often exist for only brief periods.
“The launch of our algorithmic platform is a key development,” says Zandi. “It allows us to capture short-term volatility inefficiencies, moments that last minutes or hours, where we believe there’s an opportunity for profitable trades.”
The algorithms enable CI Volatility Fund to adjust dynamically as market conditions shift, seamlessly rotating strategies to match evolving volatility regimes. This adaptive trading model mirrors the entrepreneurial mindset Zandi honed in Silicon Valley, where rapid pivots and adaptation to new data are key to success.
Beyond Just Saving You From Market Crashes: The All-Weather Advantage
Here’s where CI Volatility breaks from the pack even more. Most funds that claim to protect you during market crashes operate like insurance policies: they sit dormant during calm markets, bleeding small losses while waiting for the big crash to justify their existence. It’s protection, sure, but it’s expensive protection that drags on portfolio performance year after year.
Zandi’s most groundbreaking assertion is that “Just making money when markets crash isn’t good enough,” Zandi says bluntly. “If you’re only profitable during disasters, you’re basically paying a premium every other day for insurance you’re not using.”
CI Volatility’s approach is fundamentally different. The fund is designed to generate returns across multiple market environments, not just during market crashes. Through its diversified volatility strategies such as vol carry trades and mean reversion tactics in choppy markets, the fund aims to be profitable even when the sky isn’t falling.
“We’re the only tail risk-oriented fund that’s built to make money when markets aren’t crashing,” Zandi explains. “When volatility is calm, we’re capturing other mispricings. When it spikes, we’re positioned to profit from dislocations. When markets grind sideways, our mean reversion strategies kick in. We’re active across the entire volatility spectrum.”
This multi-regime approach means CI Volatility doesn’t just protect portfolios during crashes it actively contributes to returns during normal market conditions. It’s tail risk protection without the traditional tail risk drag.
“Investors shouldn’t have to choose between protection and performance,” Zandi adds. “We’ve built a strategy that delivers both.”
Educating Investors: The Road Ahead
As volatility trading grows from a niche strategy to a recognized asset class, CI Volatility is positioning itself as an educator in this evolving field. The firm continues to expand its research division, publishing papers and market studies to help investors understand the potential of volatility as a key investment factor.
The firm’s research-driven methodology is helping demystify volatility trading for a broader audience, providing investors with valuable insights.
The Future of Volatility Investing
With increasing institutional interest and its advanced algorithmic capabilities, CI Volatility is poised for growth as the next phase of portfolio management unfolds. As more investors seek to incorporate volatility into their strategies, CI Volatility Fund is ready to lead the way in offering risk-managed, uncorrelated return strategies that complement traditional investment approaches.
CI Volatility is betting that the future of investing won’t just accommodate volatility, it will rely on it. As the fund continues to expand its influence, the question remains: Are you ready to embrace volatility as a strategic uncorrelated alternative asset?
For more information, you can explore CI Volatility’s resources and updates on their website, follow them on X, or watch insightful discussions and presentations on their YouTube channel.
