Has the VIX index been manipulated?

Recently, an influential academic study and many lawsuits have claimed that the VIX index has been manipulated since 2008. In this paper, we construct a regression model with explanatory variables that are exogenous to the index and examine the model prediction errors. We find that the movements in...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Malkiel, B.G (Author), Rinaudo, A. (Author), Saha, A. (Author)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Palgrave Macmillan 2019
Subjects:
VIX
Online Access:View Fulltext in Publisher
Description
Summary:Recently, an influential academic study and many lawsuits have claimed that the VIX index has been manipulated since 2008. In this paper, we construct a regression model with explanatory variables that are exogenous to the index and examine the model prediction errors. We find that the movements in the daily levels of the VIX index are explained by market fundamentals and not by manipulation. We also specifically examine the VIX futures expiration days and demonstrate that the VIX closing values and VIX futures settlements prices on those days are consistent normal market forces and are not artificial. © 2018, The Author(s).
ISBN:14708272 (ISSN)
DOI:10.1057/s41260-018-00102-4