CBOE Volatility Index (VIX)
^VIX
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Key Stats
52-wk highThe highest and lowest closing price (or index level) recorded over the trailing 12 months -- a quick way to gauge how far the current price sits from its recent extremes.
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52-wk low
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YTD Return
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1Y Return
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3Y Return
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5Y Return
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About CBOE Volatility Index (VIX)
Wall Street’s "fear gauge" — measures expected S&P 500 volatility over the next 30 days from options prices. Not a market benchmark and not directly investable.
- Category
- Volatility
Returns Calculator
Returns calculator not available
CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) measures expected market volatility — it isn’t a market benchmark and isn’t directly investable. Volatility-linked products (like VIX futures ETFs) are known to lose value over long holding periods regardless of CBOE Volatility Index (VIX)’s level, so we don’t show a misleading “growth of $X” calculator for it.
Reading an Index Detail Page
This page drills into a single index from the US Indices directory — its live level, a historical chart, headline return statistics, and (where an honest one exists) a returns calculator. An index itself is a statistical basket, not something you can buy directly; the "About" section above names the ETF this page uses to stand in for it when calculating returns, because a raw index's price history excludes dividends and would understate what an actual investor earned.
The Key Stats row shows YTD, 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year returns computed from the same chart data shown below it — all price-return figures for the index itself, not dividend-adjusted, so they'll read slightly lower than the returns calculator's total-return figure below (which does include reinvested dividends via the tracking ETF). Both numbers are useful for different questions: the chart shows how the index level itself moved, the calculator shows what an actual investment would be worth today.
Frequently asked questions
Why do the Key Stats returns differ from the calculator’s result?
The Key Stats row is computed from the raw index’s own price history, which does not include dividends. The calculator uses the tracking ETF’s dividend-adjusted price history instead, so its total-return figure is typically a bit higher over multi-year periods.
Why isn’t there a returns calculator for every index?
A calculator is only shown when an honest, closely-tracking ETF exists for that index. A small number of indices (the VIX, the NYSE Composite) have no such ETF, and showing a loose or misleading proxy would be worse than showing nothing — see the note on this page for the specific reason in each case.
Is the chart adjusted for dividends?
No — the chart plots the raw index level itself (price return only), matching how the index is quoted everywhere else. Only the returns calculator below it uses dividend-adjusted (total return) data, via the tracking ETF.