As ETFs have become more targeted and specialized, they have allowed all types of investors to gain exposure to securities and strategies that were previously hard-to-reach. One of those previously hard to reach places was volatility. Now, investors can access this asset class with ease through a single ETF ticker.
Perhaps the most popular volatility index is the VIX, or the Chicago Board Options Exchange Market Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 index options. The VIX was introduced in 1993 by Duke University’s Professor Robert Whaley, and is a hypothetical measure of volatility based on metrics involving options trades and expectations of stock market volatility over the next 30 day period.
As such, investors obviously cannot invest directly in a volatility index such as the VIX. But financial innovations of recent years have created opportunities for tapping into this asset class; futures on the VIX began trading back in 2004, and the first VIX-linked options debuted in 2006. Below we outline the options that are currently available to investors, and their differing strategies that all track volatility.
See all the options in the Volatility ETF Database Category.
Short-Term VIX ETNs
It is important to note that none of the options, futures, or ETNs linked to the VIX offer exposure to changes in the spot price of the index. But short-term VIX ETNS, which generally establish long positions in the first and second month VIX contracts on a rolling basis, will often move in line with the spot VIX–at least in the short term. Because the market for VIX futures contracts is often contangoed and sloping steeply upward in the short term, the “roll yield” incurred by a short term strategy can be significant.
- iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX ): The first VIX ETN to hit the market, VXX has become a popular option for short-term investors seeking out volatility exposure. Though VXX has seen some big jumps throughout its lifetime, it can be an efficient component of more sophisticated strategies. VXX may, however, face some stiff headwinds in the form of contango.
- VIX Short-Term ETN (VIIX ): This VelocityShares fund is set up very similarly to that of VXX. VIIX, however tracks a slightly different index, as it is linked to the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index Excess Return (the iPath product is linked to the total return version of the same index).
- VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY ): This products tracks an index designed to measures the movements of a combination of VIX futures and is designed to track changes in the expectation for VIX over a specific time window in the future. VIXY stands out immediately in the volatility space as an ETF; this will eliminate the credit risk that many ETNs carry, but at the same time will make it vulnerable to tracking error, which ETNs do not have to worry about.
Mid-Term VIX ETNs
These ETNs offer investors the opportunity to invest in contracts that are several months out, as opposed to the first and second month futures that are offered by short-term VIX funds. As a result, mid-term VIX ETNs are generally less sensitive to changes in the spot VIX, but also less vulnerable to the impact of contango in futures markets.
- iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN (VXZ ): VXZ offers returns based on rolling long positions in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh month VIX contracts. While VXZ may seem very similar to its short-term counterpart, the risk/return profile is actually very different. This ETN will exhibit less volatility than VXX (which in turn generally exhibits less volatility than the spot VIX), and the focus on longer-dated contracts mitigates the impact of contango somewhat.
- VIX Medium-Term ETN (VIIZ ): VIIZ is another VelocityShares fund, which tracks the mid-term version of the same index as VIIX, giving investors another option besides the iPath ETN for exposure to mid-term volatility exposure.
- VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF (VIXM ): This ETF has the same makeup as VIXY except that VIXM focuses on mid-term futures contracts to make up its underlying holdings.
Leveraged VIX ETNs
Just as there are ETFs offering leveraged exposure to many popular stock and bond indexes, it is now possible for investors to establish amplified daily exposure to VIX-related indexes. By adding leverage to an asset class that often shows big price swings, the result is an extremely volatile security:
- Daily 2x VIX Short-Term ETN (TVIX ): This ETF is a leveraged version of VIIX, as it offers daily 2x leverage to an index comprised of short-term VIX futures contracts. The leveraged VIX products offered by VelocityShares feature a daily reset mechanism, making them similar to the leveraged products offered by ProShares and Direxion. In other words, the daily leverage offered by TVIX and TVIZ will reset to 200% daily, while the exposure for XIV and ZIV will reset to -200% daily. This differs somewhat from the iPath products, as discussed more below.
- Daily 2x VIX Medium-Term ETN (TVIZ ): TVIZ is the 2x version of VIIZ, the recently-launched mid-term volatility index from VelocityShares. While it won’t generally deliver price swings as big as TVIX, this fund is still likely to show big price movements, and is designed primarily for sophisticated traders with a short time horizon.
- Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (UVXY )": This fund debuted in 2011 and offers a 200% exposure to short term VIX futures.
Inverse VIX ETNs
Inverse VIX ETPs are a relatively new introduction, and can be useful for investors looking to bet on a decline in expected equity market volatility. These funds are probably not for “buy-and-hold” investors, but may offer advantages to traders who utilize more complex strategies to generate returns.
- Barclays ETN+ Inverse S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (XXV ): This inverse VIX fund measures short term contract, and trades under reverse ticker of the original Barclays iPath volatility fund, VXX. The fund offers inverse exposure to the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index Excess Return, which is designed to reflect the returns that are potentially available through an unleveraged investment in short-term futures contracts on the CBOE Volatility Index. Again, this product doesn’t offer leverage in the same manner that daily reset products (such as those from ProShares and Direxion) do; the amplified returns are sought over the life of the underlying debt security.
- Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN (XIV ): This fund will measure a similar index as XXV and is also a short-term inverse VIX fund. Like the +200% counterpart, this VelocityShares product resets exposure on a daily basis (as does ZIV).
- Daily Inverse VIX Medium-Term ETN (ZIV ): VelocityShares also offers an option for inverse exposure to a mid-term VIX index; ZIV should appreciate when stocks jump and will struggle when the VIX is on the rise.
Long/Short VIX ETN
Access to the VIX is no longer just limited to the traditional sub-sets–long, inverse, leveraged, etc. UBS recently debuted its E-TRACS Daily Long-Short VIX ETN (XVIX ), a product that offers exposure to a strategy designed to exploit the nuances of futures-based access to volatility markets. XVIX’s strategy involves establishing a 100% long position in the S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures Index Excess Return with a short 50% position in the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index Excess Return, with daily rebalancing of the long and short positions.
The investment thesis behind XVIX focuses on the systematically high risk premium for near-term VIX futures relative to mid-term contracts. By maintaining long exposure to mid-term contracts–those that are between four and seven months from expiration–and short exposure to those contracts nearing expiration, XVIX presents an opportunity to capture some of that risk premium regardless of whether equity market volatility is increasing or decreasing. The fund charges an expense ratio of 0.85%.
VEQTOR ETN
The volatility fund from Barclays employs a strategy that changes depending on the level of volatility observed in the market. The Barclays ETN+ S&P VEQTOR ETN (VQT ) is linked to the S&P 500 Dynamic VEQTOR, an index that provides exposure to large cap U.S. equities with an implied volatility hedge by allocating assets to three asset classes: stocks, volatility, and cash. Depending on the magnitude and trend of volatility, the equity allocation maintained by the ETN will shift between 60% (if volatility spikes to more than 45% and an uptrend is detected) and 97.5% (if realized volatility drops to less than 10% and no trend is detected).
Non-VIX Volatility ETN
While the VIX is the popular measure of volatility, there are other volatility indexes available that use their own metrics to track market uncertainty:
- C-Tracks ETN Citi Volatility Index Total Return (CVOL ): This ETF tracks the Citi Volatility Index Total Return, which is designed to measure directional exposure to the implied volatility of large cap U.S. stocks. The fund bases its investments off of the volatility calculated by Citigroup with a return due date of November 12, 2020.
Word Of Caution
As the ETF world continues to expand, so too does the complexity of the new products hitting the market. There is an ever-growing line of exchange traded products available to U.S. investors, and while many of the first generations of products are “plain vanilla” funds designed with buy-and-holders in mind, recent innovations have increasingly targeted sophisticated investors. The majority of VIX funds, for example, aren’t designed to be held over the long term and can exhibit significant volatility.
Besides the volatility, contango in futures markets introduces additional drivers of performance and layers of complexity to the risk/return profiles. The VIX ETNs now available to investors can be very powerful tools, facilitating sophisticated trading strategies or serving as effective hedges. But they are complex products, and as such should be used with caution.
Be sure to read about Using ETFs As ‘Portfolio Insurance’.
For more ETF ideas sign up for our free ETF newsletter.
Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.
