However, some short sellers are beginning to exit bets against the VIX, growing wary a complacent market. The below-average economic growth, slowing corporate earnings and uncertainty over the Federal Reserve could push up market volatility.
For instance, bets against the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEArca: VXX), the largest volatility-based exchange traded note that tries to track the VIX index, have declined to 25% of shares outstanding from a record 126% in February. [A New King Among Volatility ETNs]
“There’s some fear out there,” Justin Golden, a partner at Lake Hill Capital Management LLC, said in the article. “The danger of being short the VXX is if the world blows up and something happens, it’s going to be pretty painful.”
For more information on the CBOE Volatility Index, visit our VIX category.