Our Indexes

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.

Explore the Indexes ↓ See Pricing
📊
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.
Explore VolDex® →
📈
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.
Explore CallDex® →
📉
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.
Explore PutDex® →
⚖️
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.
Explore RiskDex® →
🦅
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.
Explore TailDex® →

Cone Alerts: When a Horizon Tags RICH or CHEAP

Alerts · Advanced

Free to read

Cone Alerts: When a Horizon Tags RICH or CHEAP

You don't watch a cone all day. You get told when implied vol crosses the 75th or 25th percentile on the names you care about.

The signal on a cone is a threshold crossing: implied vol moving above the 75th percentile (RICH) or below the 25th (CHEAP) at a given horizon. That's exactly the kind of event the Nations alert engine is built to watch — so you can let the chart watch itself.

What you can be alerted on

The RICH and CHEAP tags are computed on-site from each underlying's realized-vol history and today's VolDex® implied reading. Because they're percentile crossings, they translate cleanly into alert conditions: tell the engine which underlying, which horizon, and which edge, and it notifies you when the dot crosses the band.

RICH ALERTSPY · 30-day

Implied vol crossed above the 75th percentile of 30-day realized. Options are now expensive versus SPY's own history — a short-premium setup. Condition: VolDex® 30d > 75th percentile.

CHEAP ALERTIWM · 7-day

Implied vol crossed below the 25th percentile of 7-day realized. Near-term protection is on sale — a long-gamma setup. Condition: VolDex® 7d < 25th percentile.

A percentile crossing fires the alert time → VolDex® percentile 75th — RICH line 25th — CHEAP line RICH alert fires

When the VolDex® percentile line crosses the 75th, a RICH alert fires; crossing the 25th fires a CHEAP alert. The engine watches the crossing so you don't have to.

How it's delivered

Alerts run on the same Nations alert engine that powers the index alerts — polling on a schedule and dispatching by email or SMS when a condition is met. The cone tags are additive to that system: a new set of conditions on data already computed on-site.

Keep in mind

A crossing is a heads-up, not an order. RICH can get richer in a real shock and CHEAP can stay cheap for a year. Use the alert to look, then size the trade for the tail the cone is showing you.

Do it live

Understanding the alerts is free. Setting them on your names rides the tier the underlying needs — ETFs with ETF Analytics, single stocks with ETF + Equities.

See plans →

Educational content from Nations Indexes. VolDex® is a registered mark of Nations Indexes. Alert availability and delivery depend on plan and configuration. Nothing here is investment advice.

×
Learning Center › Tools & Application
Related in Tools & Application
📞 312-265-6500  ·  support@nationsindexes.com
Member Login