Market Attributes: Risk & Volatility Feb 2015
Index Investment Strategy
VOLATILITY MEASURES
HEDGING COSTS
200D Ave Realized (1YR)
VIX Futures Term Structure
(VIX®)
15.45
-5.11
14.65
11.78
CBOE Short-Term Volatility Index (VXST)
12.40
-7.23
14.05
11.78
CBOE 3-month Volatility Index
(VXV)
18.66
-2.61
16.23
11.78
CBOE DJIA Volatility Index
(VXD)
15.16
-2.45
13.63
11.46
S&P/ASX 200 VIX
(A-VIX)
15.21
-0.04
13.28
11.58
S&P/TSX 60 VIX
(VIXC)
17.32
-6.19
14.39
11.13
HSI Volatility Index
(VHSI)
14.82
-2.52
15.80
13.82
CBOE/CME FX Yen Volatility
(JYVIX)
10.60
-0.72
8.74
7.82
CBOE/CME FX GBP Volatility
(BPVIX)
8.48
+ 0.26
6.67
5.68
CBOE/CME FX Euro Volatility
(EUVIX)
11.24
+ 0.67
7.82
6.85
CBOE / CBOT 10Yr US Tsy
(VXTYN)
7.04
+ 0.38
5.25
4.55
CBOE Interest Rate Swap
(SRVX)
88.69
-0.32
82.75
65.87
CBOE Gold ETF Volatility Index (GVX)
19.54
+ 1.91
17.08
15.62
VIX Futures Indices Roll Costs (Monthly)
CBOE Oil ETF Volatility Index
(OVX)
55.97
+ 2.19
29.97
29.94
Short-term futures
4.06%
CBOE VIX of VIX
(VVIX)
89.38
-19.84
119.92
Mid-term futures
1.28%
CORRELATION AND CREDIT
Investable Volatility
88.27
21
20
19
18
17
16
Jul-15
Jun-15
May-15
Apr-15
Mar-15
15
Spot
CBOE Volatility Index®
Oct-15
1m ±
Sep-15
VIX
Aug-15
Implied Volatility
1m ±
QTD
12m ±
S&P VIX Short-Term Futures
-11.22%
-2.86%
-24.98%
S&P 500 Correlations (Month-end)
1 Year
3 Year
S&P VIX Mid-Term Futures
-3.22%
1.18%
-11.31%
S&P Europe 350
0.59
0.76
0.88
S&P Daily Inverse Short-Term VIX
6.01%
-4.58%
-9.96%
S&P U.S. Aggregate Bond
0.07
-0.15
-0.02
S&P Dynamic VIX
-1.56%
0.16%
-9.12%
S&P GSCI Commodity
0.48
0.48
0.49
S&P 500 Dynamic VEQTOR
2.15%
1.63%
8.75%
U.S. Dollar Index
-0.73
-0.61
-0.53
S&P 500 VEQTOR Switch
2.97%
3.85%
2.46%
Credit Default Swap Indices
Current
1m ±
12m ±
CBOE S&P 500 Buy-write
1.57%
0.74%
5.03%
S&P/ISDA U.S. 150 CDS
58.3 bps
-3.9
+ 0.4
S&P 500 Stock Covered Call
2.64%
1.21%
8.89%
S&P/ISDA U.S. High Yield CDS
287.7 bps
-39.5
+ 29.0
S&P 500 (2,099)
3.79%
1.98%
14.07%
S&P/ISDA Intl Dev Sovereign CDS
51.4 bps
-4.0
-7.1
10 Year
COMMENTARY
•
After a rocky start to the year, the past two weeks have provided respite to U.S. equities. Nonetheless, it remains an interesting time in global markets: 13 out of the
15 measures of volatility shown are above their average for the last 200 days.
•
The S&P 500 is making new highs yet again and the VIX is back at 15.45, down by more than five points versus one month ago. Part of the increasing demand for
U.S. equities is based on U.S. dollar strength. With currency wars breaking out across the globe, correlations between the U.S. dollar and the S&P 500 are on the
increase, while correlations between U.S. and global equities have declined.
•
Meanwhile a modest rally in oil prices has been converted into a newfound enthusiasm among retail investors for high yield bonds (among which energy is the
dominant sector); large flows into associated ETFs accompanied a tightening of CDS spreads by nearly 40 basis points.
•
Volatility measures for currencies, U.S. Treasuries, oil and gold all gained this month and remain historically elevated. More worryingly, a chorus of commentators has
been pointing to vast flows from retail investors into a high yield bond market that remains challenged on the fundamentals.
•
With negotiations with Greece regarding their bailout package ongoing and in light of the recently announced €1.1 trillion stimulus package from the ECB, it is no
surprise to see that the euro judged to be most at risk among currencies. Nor should we be surprised at retained high volatility in the oil markets; concerns over the
energy sector have fed through to the current high reading in Canada’s S&P/TSX 60 equity volatility.
•
The S&P Daily Inverse Short-Term VIX index was the only one of our investable volatility indices to outperform the vanilla equity exposure over the last month. Over
12 months, nothing beat a resurgent S&P 500.
•
The VIX futures curve has steepened, but not unduly given the decline in the VIX. Volatility of volatility (our final measure above) has also declined, suggesting that
there is an increased confidence from the market that the next spike in volatility will be manageable.
Sources: S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates, CBOE, U.S. Federal Reserve (Dollar index and 10Yr Swap Rate) as of February 18, 2015. Volatility measures: respective VIX and changes in those levels January
16 - February 18, 2015. 200D Average is the moving average based on trading days, colour coded by whether current respective VIX is above or below average. 1 year realized volatility calculated according to previous 1
years daily returns, annualised. Investable Index performance based on total return. Correlations of monthly returns between total return indices, in USD. All correlations provided to month-end January 2015. VIX futures
monthly roll costs are expressed as the weighted sum of the percentage difference in price between each future and the future next closer to expiry, expressed as a fraction of that futures price and weighted according to that
future's weight in the either the S&P VIX Short-Term Futures Index, or the S&P VIX Mid-Term Futures Index, as appropriate. Charts and graphs are provided for illustrative purposes. Past performance is no guarantee of
future results. For more information, please visit our website at www.spdji.com
2015
About the VIX® Network
The VIX Network is an association of exchanges and index providers dedicated to establishing standards
that help investors understand, measure, and manage volatility. The Network’s members have obtained,
from Chicago Board Options Exchange (“CBOE”) and its partner S&P Dow Jones Indices (“S&P DJI”), the
rights to use the methodology of the CBOE Volatility Index (“VIX”) to calculate their own volatility indices. In
addition to CBOE and S&P DJI, members include: Australian Securities Exchange, CME Group, Deutsche
Borse AG, Hang Seng Indexes in Hong Kong, National Stock Exchange of India, LIFFE, Taiwan Futures
Exchange, and the TMX Group in Canada.
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