Tag Archives: fear guage

VIX calculates the implied volatility of options on the S&P 500 index for the next 30 calendar days. Below is some introductory material on the VIX offered up in a question and answer format.

The S&P 500 is now up over 180% since troughing in March 2009 and it has been almost 3 years since the stock market experienced a 10% correction. Historically, market corrections happen approximately every 2 years on average. [As such,] we think that this rally is getting very long in the tooth and we wouldn't be surprised if we have a healthy pullback in the coming weeks or months.

You've probably heard about hedge funds, those super-secretive private pools where millionaires stash their money. Yes, sometimes they blow up. But many hedge funds have a long history of good returns in all market conditions. They do this by combining sophisticated trading techniques with long and short positions in various markets. The problem is that the best hedge funds aren't available to everyday investors in small amounts. Words: 1078