Since its inception in 1990, the CBOE Volatility index, or VIX, has ticked up an average of 4.2 points, or 18.6%, in the month leading up to the presidential election. Over the current trailing 30-day period, the index has added 8.4 points, or 38.6%. The 8.4-point gain was on par with the absolute change of the index in 2008, but far ahead of the relative 17.5% change. Over those same one-month periods, the S&P 500 was relatively quiet, returning an average of 0.2%, excluding 2008 when the index was down 13.8% in the midst of the financial crisis.
