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The world's leading
independent volatility indexes.

Five precision-engineered indexes that strip away the distortions of legacy vol measures — giving you a clean, real-time read on what options are actually pricing.

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VolDex®
A better way to measure option volatility
VolDex® focuses on the options that matter most—at-the-money (ATM) options with near-term expirations—giving a cleaner, more accurate view of implied volatility.

By isolating these highly liquid and actively traded contracts, VolDex avoids the distortion caused by less relevant, far out-of-the-money options. The result is a more precise snapshot of market expectations for price movement and investor sentiment—without the noise.
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CallDex®
A clearer signal of bullish sentiment & expected volatility
CallDex® tracks the cost of out-of-the-money call options to gauge market sentiment for the next 30 days. It uses call options that are one standard deviation out-of-the-money to measure what investors are expecting in terms of both volatility and potential price direction.

Higher CallDex values generally suggest traders are anticipating bigger moves or a possible market rally. Lower values indicate a calmer outlook or reduced interest in upside exposure.
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PutDex®
Focused on downside risk pricing
PutDex® delivers a clear, strike-specific measure of implied volatility by concentrating on one key data point: the normalized cost of a 30-day, one standard deviation out-of-the-money (OTM) SPY put option.

This approach isolates the segment of the options market most directly associated with downside protection, removing the noise from less relevant strike prices. The result precisely indicates market sentiment around tail risk, hedging activity, and bearish positioning.

By zeroing in on these put options—widely used by institutional investors to protect against market declines—PutDex offers valuable insight into how much investors are willing to pay to insure against losses over the next month.
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RiskDex®
A Clear Signal of Expected Market Direction
RiskDex® measures investor sentiment by comparing the normalized cost of 30-day, one standard deviation out-of-the-money (OTM) SPY put and call options. This simple ratio reveals whether the market is more focused on downside protection or upside opportunity — offering a direct view of expected equity direction over the next month.

Unlike traditional volatility indexes, which reflect overall price movement, RiskDex highlights directional bias. A rising RiskDex indicates OTM put prices are increasing at a faster rate than OTM call prices and suggests growing concerns about potential declines; a lower reading signals confidence or complacency.

This makes RiskDex a valuable tool for traders and risk managers seeking clarity on where the market thinks it's headed—not just how volatile it might be.
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TailDex®
A smarter signal for downside risk & tail hedging demand
TailDex® measures the price of deep out-of-the-money put options to assess bearish sentiment and demand for tail risk protection over the next 30 days. By focusing on puts that are three standard deviations OTM, it reflects how concerned traders are about a major downside move, often called a 'tail event'.

Higher TailDex values suggest rising demand for crash protection or increased fear of large selloffs. Lower values imply a calmer market tone and less urgency to hedge against tail risk.
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Equity Buyers Were Out In Force – Option Prices Got Crushed

by | Nov 29, 2025 | Volatility Insights

SP VolDex 1-11-2025

Your Week’s Volatility Market Commentary — Make Information Your Edge

This Week’s Volatility Insight Is Abbreviated Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday.

The Weekly Takeaway:

  • The S&P 500 gained 3.73% during the holiday-shortened week. It is now up 16.45% for the year;
  • The Nasdaq-100 gained 4.93% for the week. It is now up 21.05% for the year;
  • S&P 500 VolDex (ticker VOLI) closed at 13.60, a decline of 30.61% for the week;
  • S&P 500 TailDex (ticker TDEX) closed at 13.29, a decline of 37.93% for the week. Important historical metrics for all our indexes including average, median, and critical percentile closes are available to subscribers at NationsIndexes.com;
  • S&P 500 RiskDex, a measure of downside concern versus upside optimism, ended the week at 3.34, a decline of 39.54% for the week;
  • All of our volatility indexes on the S&P 500 closed significantly lower on the week with the exception of 30-Day CallDex; which rose by 13.32% as traders reached to buy out-of-the-money calls to get bullish exposure;
  • VolDex on the Nasdaq-100 fell by 27.86% to close at 18.89;
  • TailDex on the Nasdaq-100 fell by 36.48% to close at 13.35. You can learn more about TailDex at Learn More About TailDex;
  • The yield on Treasury notes fell by 4.6 basis points to close at 4.017%. It closed at just 3.998% on Wednesday;
  • Bitcoin rebounded from last week’s trouncing, gaining 7.92% to close at 91,325. Bitcoin VolDex fell by 20.57% to 46.66 ;
  • VolDex was lower for every equity we cover. PLTR VolDex led the way with a decline of 20.46%;
  • The Nations Indexes Optimism Index® rose by 38.41% to close at 82.01. Our Optimism Index is always available in real-time on our home page at NationsIndexes.com;
  • You can always learn more about all our indexes at Learn More About Our Indexes;

SP VolDex 1-11-2025

SP VolDex 1-11-2025

SP VolDex 1-11-2025

You can learn more about CallDex here.

SP VolDex 1-11-2025

Nations Investor Optimism Index®:

The Nations Indexes Optimism Index® rose by 38.41% to close at 82.01.

SP VolDex 1-11-2025

The index takes into account the current levels of S&P 500 VolDex, TailDex, and RiskDex and compares them to their rolling 2-year ranges. It is plotted on a 0 to 100 scale.

Our Optimism Index is now available in real-time on our home page at Nations Optimism Index.

Equities:

SP VolDex 1-11-2025

SP VolDex 1-11-2025

We’ll be back with the complete edition of Volatility Insights next week.

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