The IV Index - Fidelity (2024)

FAQs

What is the IV percentile in Fidelity? ›

IV is expressed as an annualized percentage of the stock price and represents a one standard deviation move. It can be used to calculate future expected move on an annual basis, or for a more specific time period. IV is a product of supply and demand for specific option contracts.

Whereas IV is an estimate of future volatility, historical volatility (HV) is how volatile the underlying stock has been. Both measures may be used to estimate future volatility because, by inference, an option that has consistently been historically volatile might be expected to also be volatile in the future.

It's a gauge of how likely it is that the underlying asset will move, changing the market price of the option. This article defines implied volatility, discusses how it impacts options prices, and shows you how to determine it for any stock or index.

Implied Volatility (IV)

Implied Volatility is calculated by determining the amount of volatility that would result in the current option price given the current time until expiration, interest rates, dividends, stock price, and strike price.

While a commonly cited “good” IV range is 20% to 25%, the ideal IV can vary greatly depending on the specific asset, strategy, and risk tolerance level. Implied volatility (IV) plays a fundamental role in options trading, affecting pricing and the potential for profit.

Implied volatility rank is generally considered to be elevated (i.e. “high”) when it is greater than 50. Extreme levels in IV rank would be 80 and above. Alternatively, when implied volatility rank is depressed (<20) that may be viewed as a potential opportunity to buy options/volatility.

Implied volatility is calculated by taking the market price of an option and backing out the implied volatility that results in the market price given a particular option pricing model and other input parameters.

30-Day Implied Volatility

A low implied volatility environment tells us that the market isn't expecting the stock price to move much from the current price over the next 30 days.

Fidelity has varying levels (low, mid, and high, as well as mixed) and five dimensions (visual, breadth, depth, interactivity, and data model). It takes time and practice to learn which fidelity will enable you to get the feedback you need, but there are a few best practices for choosing.

IV is a forward-looking measure implied by the options market, while HV is backward looking. HV is a moving average of actual price variability in the stock over the previous 52 weeks: 52-Week HV High/Low. Notice that, over the past year, the stock's HV has been as high as 68% and as low as 15.2%.

Is high IV good or bad? ›

Low IV doesn't guarantee that the price will remain stable, and unexpected events can suddenly cause volatility; High IV means that buying options is more expensive, and there's a greater risk of the stock making a big move, however this may never materialize.

Traders that are pessimistic like to buy put options as a hedge. This raises the IV of put options, indicating bearishness. Similarly, when traders do not protect themselves vigorously against strong market changes, their IVs fall. The majority of traders are comfortable with IVs of 20% to 25%.

The U.S. National Weather Service calculates the UV Index using a computer model that relates the ground-level strength of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation to forecasted stratospheric ozone concentration, forecasted cloud amounts, and elevation of the ground.

6 to 7: High

A UV Index reading of 6 to 7 means high risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure. Protection against skin and eye damage is needed. Reduce time in the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. If outdoors, seek shade and wear protective clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, and UV-blocking sunglasses.

Implied volatility is the real-time estimation of an asset's price as it trades. Implied volatility tends to increase when options markets experience a downtrend. Implied volatility falls when the options market shows an upward trend. Larger implied volatility means higher option prices.

IV percentile is a measure that indicates where the current implied volatility level for an asset stands relative to its historical range. It is expressed as a percentage and helps traders understand whether the implied volatility is currently high or low compared to its recent history.

With the 4% Rule, you withdraw 4 percent of your portfolio value in the first year of retirement. The dollar amount of that withdrawal is then increased each year by the rate of inflation.

Implied volatility (IV) is essentially a measure of how much the market believes the price of a stock or other underlying asset will move in the future, and is a key factor in determining the price of an options contract.

Similarly, when traders do not protect themselves vigorously against strong market changes, their IVs fall. The majority of traders are comfortable with IVs of 20% to 25%. Since traders are not expecting any events that could trigger volatility, IVs on ATM Nifty options have recently decreased to roughly 14%.