Breezy Quarter for Stocks Masks Biggest Bet on Unrest Since 2012
- Exchange-traded products long the VIX took in $2 billion
- Hedge funds and speculators remain notably short price swings
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In the grip of the biggest first-quarter advance for stocks in two decades, investors pumped billions into products that would pay off if the market calm snapped.
Call it a hedge for the famously unloved rally, or a mistimed bet that the sleepy S&P 500 Index was poised for a shake-up. Whatever the reason, inflows into exchange-traded products that notch gains when the Cboe volatility gauge rises topped $2 billion through the end of March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the most since the first quarter of 2012.