Question:
What is the VIX that I keeping hearing about in the financial news?
Answer:
The Chicago Board Options Exchange, or CBOE, created the VIX® to measure expected volatility for the US stock market. It is calculated based on the prices of put and call options for the S&P 500® index over a rolling 30-day period and is the global standard for measuring volatility. The VIX® is also known as the Fear Index. It spikes when markets are turbulent, as has been the case in the past two weeks.
