Volatility Derivatives

Abstract

Volatility derivatives are a class of derivative securities where the payoff explicitly depends on some measure of the volatility of an underlying asset. Prominent examples of these derivatives include variance swaps and VIX futures and options. We provide an overview of the current market for these derivatives. We also survey the early literature on the subject. Finally, we provide relatively simple proofs of some fundamental results related to variance swaps and volatility swaps.