Nasdaq-100® Volatility Index
The Nasdaq-100 Volatility Index (VOLQ®) provides investors with a new way to gauge equity market swings.
The Nasdaq-100 Volatility Index (Ticker Symbol: VOLQ) measures 30-day implied volatility as expressed by the prices of certain listed options on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) to obtain the prices of synthetic precisely at-the money (ATM) options.
Know What Option Markets Are Really Saying
VOLQ uses just the options that investors and traders most care about. Download the fact sheet to learn more.
DOWNLOAD VOLQ FACT SHEETA Methodology Reference Guide for Retail and Institutional Investors
This reference guide answers the questions: What is implied volatility and how is it calculated?
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Trade the Nasdaq-100 Volatility Index Futures
Learn more about how CME Group's VOLQ Futures are helping investors navigate market volatility.
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VOLQ is the newest entrant in a trading space long dominated by a single "fear gauge" called the Cboe Volatility Index® (VIX®). The VIX incorporates a large and variable number of In, At, and Out of the money options, forming a measure of annualized variance. This approach reduces the value of the resulting measure due to statistical noise (issues like skew) from any of the three options inputs.
The newest entrant in a trading space long dominated by a single index
VOLQ is an improved measure of implied volatility on one of the most important domestic equity indexes, the Nasdaq-100 Index. VOLQ uses the Nations® VolDex® methodology to measure implied volatility which interpolates the first and second in-the-money and first and second out-of-the-money call and put options for the four weekly expirations, bracketing the moment 30 days in the future. Prices for these 32 options are used to calculate a mathematically robust, closed-form measure of at-the-money implied volatility.
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The Nasdaq-100 Index includes the largest domestic and international non-financial companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market—reflecting the performance of companies across major industry groups including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology.
The underlying options for VOLQ are options on The Nasdaq-100 Index
These options trade on three different Nasdaq options exchanges. Multiple trading venues result in tighter bid/ask spreads, which means VOLQ provides a clearer measure of expectations for future volatility.
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