Although volatility surged on Feb. 6th, causing some controversy around products such as SVXY and XIV, SVXY behaved as expected. SVXY’s action on Feb. 6th, including after-hours trade, “was consistent with its objective and reflected the changes in the level of its underlying index. We expect the fund to be open for trading today and we intend to continue to manage the fund as usual,” according to a statement from ProShares.
“Perhaps investors are looking to buy the dip. Funds that bet on market calm are certainly in a gully after volatility spiked to its highest level since 2015. But while at least two exchange-traded products that use the strategy imploded, SVXY weathered the storm,” according to Bloomberg.
The VIX, or so-called fear index, is a widely observed indicator for investor sentiment in the stock market and measures the expected or implied volatility of large-cap stock options traded on the S&P 500 index. ETPs that track VIX futures allow investors to profit during rising volatility or hedge against short-term turns. VIX exchange traded products track the VIX futures market, not the VIX spot price.
For more information on the CBOE Volatility Index, visit our VIX category.