Transitory Fear: Explaining Changes in the VIX Futures Basis

Following the 2004 introduction of VIX futures, they have become an increasingly important hedging instrument and aid for portfolio diversification. We examine changes in the futures basis which, owing to their unique characteristics, can be interpreted as changes in expectations of future VIX (“fear”) levels. We find that higher levels of VIX are associated with a narrowing of the futures basis, suggesting that investors view “fear” as transitory, and a flatter forward curve. We propose news sentiment as one plausible explanation for changes in the basis. A wider (narrower) basis accompanies the more positive (negative) news associated with a falling (rising) VIX index.