The VIX, the Variance Premium and Stock Market Volatility

The VIX, the Variance Premium and Stock Market Volatility
Author: Geert Bekaert
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2013
Genre: Economics
ISBN:

We decompose the squared VIX index, derived from US S&P500 options prices, into the conditional variance of stock returns and the equity variance premium. The latter is increasing in risk aversion in a wide variety of economic settings. We tackle several measurement issues assessing a plethora of state-of-the-art volatility forecasting models. We then examine the predictive power of the VIX and its two components for stock market returns and economic activity. The variance premium predicts stock returns but the conditional stock market variance predicts economic activity, and is more contemporaneously correlated with financial instability than is the variance premium.

The Causal Relationship between the S&P 500 and the VIX Index

The Causal Relationship between the S&P 500 and the VIX Index
Author: Florian Auinger
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 102
Release: 2015-02-13
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3658089695

Florian Auinger highlights the core weaknesses and sources of criticism regarding the VIX Index as an indicator for the future development of financial market volatility. Furthermore, it is proven that there is no statistically significant causal relationship between the VIX and the S&P 500. As a consequence, the forecastability is not given in both directions. Obviously, there must be at least one additional variable that has a strong influence on market volatility such as emotions which, according to financial market experts, are considered to play a more and more important role in investment decisions.

The VIX Index and Volatility-Based Global Indexes and Trading Instruments: A Guide to Investment and Trading Features

The VIX Index and Volatility-Based Global Indexes and Trading Instruments: A Guide to Investment and Trading Features
Author: Matthew T. Moran
Publisher: CFA Institute Research Foundation
Total Pages: 49
Release: 2020-04-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1944960961

During the past two decades, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX® Index), a key measure of investor sentiment and 30-day future volatility expectations, has generated much investor attention because of its unique and powerful features. The introduction of VIX futures in 2004, VIX options in 2006, and other volatility-related trading instruments provided traders and investors access to exchange-traded vehicles for taking long and short exposures to expected S&P 500 Index volatility for a particular time frame. Certain VIX-related tradable products may provide benefits when used as tools for tail-risk hedging, diversification, risk management, or alpha generation. Gauges of expected stock market volatility for various regions include the VIX Index (United States), AXVI Index (Australia), VHSI Index (Hong Kong), NVIX Index (India) and VSTOXX Index (Europe). All five of these volatility indexes had negative correlations with their related stock indexes price movements, and all five volatility indexes rose more than 50% in 2008. Although the five volatility indexes are not investable, investors can explore VIX-based benchmark indexes that show the performance of hypothetical investment strategies using VIX futures or options. Before investing in volatility-related products, investors should closely study the pricing, roll cost, and volatility features of the tradable products and read the applicable prospectuses and risk disclosure statements.

Pricing Models of Volatility Products and Exotic Variance Derivatives

Pricing Models of Volatility Products and Exotic Variance Derivatives
Author: Yue Kuen Kwok
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2022-05-08
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1000584275

Pricing Models of Volatility Products and Exotic Variance Derivatives summarizes most of the recent research results in pricing models of derivatives on discrete realized variance and VIX. The book begins with the presentation of volatility trading and uses of variance derivatives. It then moves on to discuss the robust replication strategy of variance swaps using portfolio of options, which is one of the major milestones in pricing theory of variance derivatives. The replication procedure provides the theoretical foundation of the construction of VIX. This book provides sound arguments for formulating the pricing models of variance derivatives and establishes formal proofs of various technical results. Illustrative numerical examples are included to show accuracy and effectiveness of analytic and approximation methods. Features Useful for practitioners and quants in the financial industry who need to make choices between various pricing models of variance derivatives Fabulous resource for researchers interested in pricing and hedging issues of variance derivatives and VIX products Can be used as a university textbook in a topic course on pricing variance derivatives

Inferring Volatility Dynamics and Risk Premia from the S&P 500 and VIX Markets

Inferring Volatility Dynamics and Risk Premia from the S&P 500 and VIX Markets
Author: Chris Bardgett
Publisher:
Total Pages: 69
Release: 2017
Genre:
ISBN:

This paper shows that the VIX market contains information that is not already contained by the S&P 500 market on the variance of the S&P 500 returns. We estimate a flexible affine model based on a joint time series of underlying indexes and option prices on both markets. We find that including VIX option prices in the model estimation allows better identification of the parameters driving the risk-neutral conditional distributions and term structure of volatility, thereby enhancing the estimation of the variance risk premium. We gain new insights on the properties of the premium's term structure and show how they can be used to form trading signals. Finally, our premium has better predictive power than the usual model-free estimate and the higher-order moments of its term structure allow improving forecasts of S&P 500 returns.

Handbook Of Financial Econometrics, Mathematics, Statistics, And Machine Learning (In 4 Volumes)

Handbook Of Financial Econometrics, Mathematics, Statistics, And Machine Learning (In 4 Volumes)
Author: Cheng Few Lee
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 5053
Release: 2020-07-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9811202400

This four-volume handbook covers important concepts and tools used in the fields of financial econometrics, mathematics, statistics, and machine learning. Econometric methods have been applied in asset pricing, corporate finance, international finance, options and futures, risk management, and in stress testing for financial institutions. This handbook discusses a variety of econometric methods, including single equation multiple regression, simultaneous equation regression, and panel data analysis, among others. It also covers statistical distributions, such as the binomial and log normal distributions, in light of their applications to portfolio theory and asset management in addition to their use in research regarding options and futures contracts.In both theory and methodology, we need to rely upon mathematics, which includes linear algebra, geometry, differential equations, Stochastic differential equation (Ito calculus), optimization, constrained optimization, and others. These forms of mathematics have been used to derive capital market line, security market line (capital asset pricing model), option pricing model, portfolio analysis, and others.In recent times, an increased importance has been given to computer technology in financial research. Different computer languages and programming techniques are important tools for empirical research in finance. Hence, simulation, machine learning, big data, and financial payments are explored in this handbook.Led by Distinguished Professor Cheng Few Lee from Rutgers University, this multi-volume work integrates theoretical, methodological, and practical issues based on his years of academic and industry experience.

Volatility Expectations and Returns

Volatility Expectations and Returns
Author: Lars A. Lochstoer
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022
Genre:
ISBN:

We provide evidence that agents have slow-moving beliefs about stock market volatility that lead to initial underreaction to volatility shocks followed by delayed overreaction. These dynamics are mirrored in the VIX and variance risk premiums which reflect investor expectations about volatility and are also supported in surveys and in firm-level option prices. We embed these expectations into an asset pricing model and find that the model can account for a number of stylized facts about market returns and return volatility which are difficult to reconcile, including a weak, or even negative, risk-return tradeoff.

Beast on Wall Street

Beast on Wall Street
Author: Robert A. Haugen
Publisher: Pearson
Total Pages: 170
Release: 1999
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

It is now abundantly clear that stock volatility is a contagious disease that spreads virulently from market to market around the world. Price changes in one market drive subsequent price changes in that market as well as in others. In Beast, Haugen makes a compelling case for the fact that even under normal conditions, fully 80 percent of stock volatility is price driven. Moreover, this volatility is far from benign. It acts to reduce the level of investment spending and constitutes a significant and permanent drag on economic growth. Price-driven volatility is unstable. Dramatic and unpredictable explosions in price-driven volatility can send stock markets in a downward spiral and cause significant disruptions in economic activity. Haugen argues that this indeed happened in 1929 and 1930. If volatility in Asian markets persists, it can easily become the source of the problem rather than merely a symptom.

Trading VIX Derivatives

Trading VIX Derivatives
Author: Russell Rhoads
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2011-08-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0470933089

A guide to using the VIX to forecast and trade markets Known as the fear index, the VIX provides a snapshot of expectations about future stock market volatility and generally moves inversely to the overall stock market. Trading VIX Derivatives will show you how to use the Chicago Board Options Exchange's S&P 500 volatility index to gauge fear and greed in the market, use market volatility to your advantage, and hedge stock portfolios. Engaging and informative, this book skillfully explains the mechanics and strategies associated with trading VIX options, futures, exchange traded notes, and options on exchange traded notes. Many market participants look at the VIX to help understand market sentiment and predict turning points. With a slew of VIX index trading products now available, traders can use a variety of strategies to speculate outright on the direction of market volatility, but they can also utilize these products in conjunction with other instruments to create spread trades or hedge their overall risk. Reviews how to use the VIX to forecast market turning points, as well as reveals what it takes to implement trading strategies using VIX options, futures, and ETNs Accessible to active individual traders, but sufficiently sophisticated for professional traders Offers insights on how volatility-based strategies can be used to provide diversification and enhance returns Written by Russell Rhoads, a top instructor at the CBOE's Options Institute, this book reflects on the wide range of uses associated with the VIX and will interest anyone looking for profitable new forecasting and trading techniques.

Volatility Trading, + website

Volatility Trading, + website
Author: Euan Sinclair
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2008-06-23
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0470181990

In Volatility Trading, Sinclair offers you a quantitative model for measuring volatility in order to gain an edge in your everyday option trading endeavors. With an accessible, straightforward approach. He guides traders through the basics of option pricing, volatility measurement, hedging, money management, and trade evaluation. In addition, Sinclair explains the often-overlooked psychological aspects of trading, revealing both how behavioral psychology can create market conditions traders can take advantage of-and how it can lead them astray. Psychological biases, he asserts, are probably the drivers behind most sources of edge available to a volatility trader. Your goal, Sinclair explains, must be clearly defined and easily expressed-if you cannot explain it in one sentence, you probably aren't completely clear about what it is. The same applies to your statistical edge. If you do not know exactly what your edge is, you shouldn't trade. He shows how, in addition to the numerical evaluation of a potential trade, you should be able to identify and evaluate the reason why implied volatility is priced where it is, that is, why an edge exists. This means it is also necessary to be on top of recent news stories, sector trends, and behavioral psychology. Finally, Sinclair underscores why trades need to be sized correctly, which means that each trade is evaluated according to its projected return and risk in the overall context of your goals. As the author concludes, while we also need to pay attention to seemingly mundane things like having good execution software, a comfortable office, and getting enough sleep, it is knowledge that is the ultimate source of edge. So, all else being equal, the trader with the greater knowledge will be the more successful. This book, and its companion CD-ROM, will provide that knowledge. The CD-ROM includes spreadsheets designed to help you forecast volatility and evaluate trades together with simulation engines.