The $VIX often starts rallying before a correction starts but not always. Regarding both the VIX as well as the small caps (IWM) and some of the S&P 500 sectors such as financials & industrials (which are at/near ATHs & rallying today), either they (VIX, IWM, XLF, XLI traders, etc..) are right & I am wrong or the other way around. What I mean is that tech as a whole is mostly weak as are the former market-leading FAAMGs + TSLA. So either this is just healthy sector rotation with big-tech taking a breather while other sectors take the baton, or the market is ignoring the weakness the FAAMGs as well as the breakdowns in SPY, QQQ, AAPL, & TSLA in which case, this would be an opportunity to go long volatility (VIX futures or ETNs) on the cheap before it becomes apparent to the masses that my scenario is the correct scenario (a correction is now underway) as the VIX will likely rally very hard & fast if/when that becomes apparent to most or all.

I think a fairly tight stop on DRIP makes sense based on the additional sell signals in QQQ & TSLA today coupled with the fact that the energy sector ETFs are at resistance. Of course, you have to account for the 2x leverage on DRIP so the stop would be double what it would be (in percentage terms) if shorting XOP.
If targeting that 23.69ish resistance on DRIP, which is about 120% above current levels, a stop of 20% would provide an excellent R/R of 6:1. If looking for a more modest correction in the energy stocks, my min. target for DRIP (after reviewing the charts further since I did the video) is 16.73 (unadjusted target, set sell limit a few cents below), then a 10% stop loss would make sense as that target is about 33% above current levels.

I completely understand. Pass on trades that don’t mesh with your outlook for the security and/or comfort level. Just sharing my thoughts as I suspect oil, which has been bullet-proof lately & up big while trading at a 10+ month high today, will likely outperform the major stock indices to the downside if/when the recent sell signals on SPY, QQQ, AAPL, & TSLA play out for a decent (10%+) correction. We have some additional checkmarks for the correction case today although still a little more work to be done to firm up the case for a 10%+ drop in the stock market even more, including failures of the recent breakouts in GOOG & MSFT as well as the small-craps breaking down along with the large-caps. If/when/as that happens, hedge funds & the algos will flip the switch from BUY to SELL and most correlated assets such as crude, the stock market, (& bonds) will likely move sharply lower (higher).

The sell signals/breakdowns on AAPL & now TSLA are 100% confirmed with the recent weakness in those two big (former) market leaders now spilling over to the rest of the FAAMGs. That, coupled with today’s breakdown below the primary uptrend line on the QQQ daily chart helps to confirm a sell signal on the stock market. Should that play out as I would expect, it will likely cause a flight-to-safety bid on T-bonds in the coming days to weeks.

i see 8 possible if 12 level breaks.

/RTY at resistance. About to confirm the bearish divergence on hourly (if that happens).