Volatility Inc.: Inside Wall Street’s $8 Billion Mess

  • Before whirlwind, banks turned volatility into the hot item
  • VIX was seen as sure thing -- until it suddenly wasn’t anymore
Bloomberg’s Julie Hyman gives a crash course on the rise and fall of the hottest trade on Wall Street.(Source: Bloomberg)
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It was the hot trade on Wall Street, a seemingly sure thing that lulled everyone from hedge fund managers to small-time investors.

Now newfangled investments linked to volatility in the stock market -- until a few years ago, obscure niche products -- have exploded in spectacular fashion. The shock waves have only just begun.