VIX options are offered for trading on CBOE, while futures on four of the volatility indexes are traded at the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE®). Options on the
RVX and
VXN indexes were launched on September 27, 2007.
Click here for the Press Release.
CBOE's volatility indexes are key measures of market expectations of near-term volatility conveyed by stock index option prices. The indexes measure the market's expectation of 30-day volatility implicit in the prices of near-term index options. The indexes are quoted in percentage points, just like the standard deviation of a rate of return, e.g. 19.36. CBOE disseminates the index values continuously during trading hours. The indexes are leading barometers of investor sentiment and market volatility relating to key stock indexes.
Volatility Charts (Aug 2007 PDF)
Unique Features of Futures and Options on the CBOE's Volatility Indexes
Futures and options on the CBOE's volatility indexes have several features that distinguish them from most equity and index options. Here are links to unique features of VIX options—
Negative Correlations
In the first half of 2007, the volatility indexes all had negative correlations to the daily returns of the related stock indexes—
High Volatility of Volatility
The volatility indexes often have experienced high movement and volatility; here are the historic volatilities of daily returns in 2006—
- 95% VIX (spot index)
- 94% VXD
- 80% RVX
- 79% VXN
- 56% VIX Near-term Futures
- 14% IBM (stock)
- 10% S&P 500 (SPX) Index
Please note that VIX near-term futures did not experience as much movement and volatility as the VIX Index itself.
Study on Volatility Index as a Diversification Tool
In 2007 the Fund Evaluation Group (FEG) consulting firm issued a new study entitled "Evaluation of BuyWrite and Volatility Indexes - Using the CBOE DJIA BuyWrite Index (BXD) and the CBOE DJIA Volatility Index (VXD) for Asset Allocation and Diversification Purposes." The paper studied the 109-month period from October 1997 to November 2006. The FEG study presented several findings on the 9-year performance of the VXD spot index, including:
- Volatility Index Can Reduce Portfolio Volatility . Including a small (10%) allocation to the CBOE DJIA Volatility Index (VXD) could have reduced the volatility of an all-stock portfolio by about 26%, without materially affecting returns.
- Low Correlation and Diversification . The VXD and the DJIA were inversely correlated (-0.62) over the course of this study. The study showed that VXD increased more during market declines (VXD reacted more to stock market declines than to stock market advances), indicating that VXD has potential as a diversification tool.
- Impact on Risk-Adjusted Returns . The inclusion of a small (5%) allocation to the VXD Index boosted risk-adjusted returns for a stock-oriented portfolio, and lowered the risk-adjusted returns for a fixed-income-oriented portfolio.
Exhibit 14 of the FEG study showed the impact of adding 5% allocations of the VXD spot index to an all-stock DJIA portfolio. Please note that (1) the study used prices of the VXD spot index because long-term data on prices of VXD futures was not available, and (2) that the futures on volatility indexes often have had less price movement than the volatility spot indexes.
Links to More Information about Volatility Indexes
Futures and options on the CBOE’s volatility indexes have several UNIQUE FEATURES that distinguish them from most equity and index options, and investors are strongly ENCOURAGED TO CLOSELY READ AND UNDERSTAND THE VIX OPTIONS FAQ at http://www.cboe.com/micro/vix/vixoptionsfaq.aspx and other informational materials before investing. CBOE®, Chicago Board Options Exchange®, CBOE Volatility Index®, and VIX® are registered trademarks of Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (CBOE). BXM, BXD, BXN, BXR, BXY, VXD, VXN, RVX and SPX are service marks of CBOE. CFESM is a service mark of CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC. Dow Jones®, DJIA®, and Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM are trademarks of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use for certain purposes by CBOE. CBOE's Options on the Dow based on the Dow Jones indexes and financial products based on the CBOE DJIA BuyWrite Index and the CBOE DJIA Volatility Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed or promoted by Dow Jones and Dow Jones makes no representations regarding the advisability of investing in such products. S&P®and S&P 500® are registered trademarks of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and are licensed for use by CBOE. The Russell 2000® Index is a registered trademark of The Frank Russell Company, used under license. Nasdaq®, Nasdaq-100® and Nasdaq-100 Index are trademarks of The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (with which its affiliates are the "Corporations"). The CBOE Nasdaq-100 BuyWrite Index, and the CBOE Nasdaq-100 Volatility Index ("Indexes") are not derived, maintained, published, calculated or disseminated by the Corporations. Neither the Indexes nor any Derivative Product based on the Indexes has been passed on by the Corporations as to its legality or suitability. Such Derivative Products are not issued, endorsed, sold, sponsored, marketed or promoted by the Corporations. The Corporations make no warranties and bear no liability with respect to the Indexes. The methodologies of the CBOE BuyWrite Indexes and the CBOE Volatility Indexes are owned by CBOE and may be covered by one or more patents or pending patent applications. CBOE's BuyWrite Indexes are designed to represent a proposed hypothetical buy-write strategy. Supporting documentation for claims, comparisons, recommendations, statistics or other technical data is available by calling 1-888-OPTIONS, sending an e-mail to institutional@cboe.com, or by visiting www.cboe.com. This document contains comparisons, assertions, and conclusions regarding the performance of index based on backtesting, i.e., calculations of how the index might have performed in the past if it had existed. Backtested performance information is purely hypothetical and is provided in this document solely for informational purposes. Backtested performance does not represent actual performance, and should not be interpreted as an indication of actual performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The methodology of the CBOE Volatility Index is owned by CBOE and may be covered by one or more patents or pending patent applications.