Variance Swaps: An Introduction

VARIANCE SWAP BASICS

Equity Derivatives
Strategy

April 7, 2005

Marko Kolanovic
(212) 272-1438
mkolanovic@bear.com
Gary Semeraro
(212) 272-4800
gsemeraro@bear.com

A variance swap is an over-the-counter derivative contract in which two parties agree to buy or
sell the realized volatility of an index or single stock on a future datethe swap-expiration
datefor a pre-determined price, the swap-strike. The payoff for an investor who buys variance
using a swap is equal to the difference between the realized and strike variance, multiplied by the
notional amount of the swap: [$ Notional * (Realized Volatility2 Strike Level2)]. An investor who
sells variance would receive the opposite payoff: [$ Notional * (Strike Level2 Realized
Volatility2)]. Variance swap vega is the dollar-change in swap value for each percentage-point
movement in volatility. The vega of the swap equals twice the volatility times the notional amount
of the swap: [2 * Volatility * $ Notional]. Variance swaps have been actively traded over-thecounter for more than 8 years, and more recently (since 2004) have begun to trade on the CBOE.1
Portfolio managers can enter into variance swaps easily. The investor specifies which
underlying index to use and the duration of the swap contract. He then must determine whether
he wants to buy variance (so that he will profit from any increase in the volatility of the index
above the swap strike) or sell it (so that he will profit from any decrease in volatility below the
swap strike). Finally, the investor must decide the type of volatility exposure. Typically,
investors choose vega exposurea $100,000 vega exposure means that the swap value will
change by $100,000 for each percentage point change in the volatility of the underlying index.
Once the investor has an ISDA master agreement in place, he can obtain a quote and trade.

EXAMPLE VARIANCE SWAP AND PAYOFF CALCULATION

Realized volatility is used to determine the swap payoff at maturity. This measure is calculated
from daily index closing prices in a straightforward and standardized way.2
The payoff calculation from an example 30-day short S&P 500 variance swap entered into on
Feb 23, 2005 is shown below. The swap valuation date was April 7, 2005, the notional swap
vega amount was $100,000, and the swap strike price (ask) is 11. The swap settlement value was
9.8701, which was below the swap strike of 11; the contract was closed at a gain of $107,183.
Essentially, as volatility decreased by roughly 1 volatility point, the investor gained $107,183.
Fig. 1: Swap Settlement for 30-Day S&P 500 Variance Swap
2

Day
Trade
1
2
3
4
5

Date
02/23/05
02/24/05
02/25/05
02/28/05
03/01/05
03/02/05

Index Log Return Log Return

1,190.8
--1,200.2
0.7863%
0.0062%
1,211.4
0.9264%
0.0086%
1,203.6 -0.6435%
0.0041%
1,210.4
0.5642%
0.0032%
1,210.1 -0.0273%
0.0000%

.
.
.

.
.
.

.
.
.

23
24
25
26
27
28
29
Valuation

03/29/05
03/30/05
03/31/05
04/01/05
04/04/05
04/05/05
04/06/05
04/07/05

1,165.4
1,181.4
1,180.6
1,172.9
1,176.1
1,181.4
1,184.1
1,191.1

-0.7625%
1.3679%
-0.0694%
-0.6518%
0.2725%
0.4471%
0.2266%
0.5953%

0.0058%
0.0187%
0.0000%
0.0042%
0.0007%
0.0020%
0.0005%
0.0035%

.
.
.

.
.
.

Realized Vol Calculation

Sum of Log Returns Squared
Divided by number of returns (30)
Square Root
Multiplied by square root of 252
Swap settlement value
Swap Payoff
Strike
Vega
Notional
Payoff

0.1160%
0.0039%
0.6218%
9.8701%
9.8701

11
$ 100,000
$
4,545
$ 107,183

Source: Bear Stearns Equity Derivatives Strategy, Bloomberg.

3-month variance futures now trade on the CBOE. The first documented variance swap traded on the FTSE Index in
1993.
2
To calculate this, one first takes the indexs daily log-returns; then the sum of the squares of the returns is divided by the
number of daily-returns measured. This volatility number is multiplied by the square root of 252 to annualize the measure,
and by 100 to return a number in volatility points as opposed to a decimal number. This resulting number is the realized
volatility over the life of the swap, and is the swap settlement value.

Bear Stearns Equity Derivatives Strategy

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Variance Swaps: An Introduction

The payoff of a volatility swap is directly proportional to realized volatility; the profitability of a
variance swap, however, has a quadratic relationship to realized volatility. These relationships
are shown in Figure 2.
Fig. 2: Payoff of Long Variance and Volatility Swaps Struck at 20 Volatility Points;
$100,000 Notional Vega
$4,000,000

Variance Swap
Volatility Swap

$3,000,000

$2,000,000

Payoff

$1,000,000

$0

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

$(1,000,000)

$(2,000,000)

$(3,000,000)

Realized Volatility (vol. points)

Source: Bear Stearns Equity Derivatives Strategy, Bloomberg.

Since a long variance swap gains more than a simple volatility swap when volatility increases
and loses less than a volatility swap when volatility decreases, variance swap levels are typically
quoted above the expected level of future realized volatility (ie: above option-implied volatility).
This spread between variance and volatility is called convexity. Examples of Bear Stearns
indicative levels for S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 variance swaps are shown below.3 For example,
on April 7th, an S&P 500 (SPX) variance swap with Dec 05 expiration was bid at 14.4 and
offered at 15.4. A sample term sheet is shown as well.
Fig. 3: Example Quotes for Index Variance Swaps (left); Sample Term Sheet (right)
S&P 500 INDEX VARIANCE SWAP
March 4, 2005
Transaction Summary:

4/7/05
SPX
May'05
Jun'05
Sep'05
Dec'05
Dec'06

FUTURES
Expiry
Expiry
Expiry
Expiry
Expiry

1186 @ 9:46
-- 11.80 / 12.80
-- 12.90 / 13.90
-- 13.80 / 14.80
-- 14.40 / 15.40
-- 15.90 / 16.90

Receives a Payoff at Maturity if the Volatility, as calculated on the Valuation Date, is

greater than the Strike.
Pays a Payoff at Maturity if the Volatility, as calculated on the Valuation Date, is
lower than the Strike.

Seller:
Buyer:

Bear Stearns International, Limited (BSIL)

Trade Date:

March 4, 2005

Valuation Date:

April 15, 2005

Payment Date:

3 Exchange Business Days following the Valuation Date

Volatility Units (USD per point):

USD 100,000

Variance Units (USD per point):

4,385.9649 (Equal to {Volatility Units/ (2*Strike) }

Underlying Index:

S&P 500 Index (SPX)

Strike:

11.4%

4/7/05
FUTURES
Expiry
Expiry
Expiry
Expiry
Expiry

General:

Payoff at Maturity:

NDX
May'05
Jun'05
Sep'05
Dec'05
Dec'06

Buyer enters into a variance swap, under which it

Variance Units * [ (Volatility)2- (Strike)2]

If such amount is a positive number, then Seller shall make a payment to Buyer

1490 @ 9:54
-- 17.00 / 18.00
-- 18.25 / 19.25
-- 19.50 / 20.50
-- 20.25 / 21.25
-- 21.50 / 22.50

If such amount is a negative number, then Buyer shall make a payment equal to the
absolute amount to Seller
Volatility:

252 x
100*

(Re turn( i ))

i =1

, where:

( Indexi )
Return(i) = ln

( Indexi 1)

252 = Annualization Factor

n = Number of observations excluding the initial observation on Trade Date, but including
the Valuation Date
Indexi = The closing level of the Underlying Index i business days from the Trade Date
except for Index0 which shall equal the closing level on the Trade Date and Indexn which
shall equal the special quotation of the Underlying Index on the Valuation Date.
Documentation:

As per ISDA

Currency:

USD

Exchange:

New York Stock Exchange

Market Disruption:

Postponement

Collateral:

Upfront: Subject to portfolio margin calculation agreed upon

Mark-to-Market: As per ISDA

Source: Bear Stearns Equity Derivatives Strategy, Bloomberg.

This historical, real-market example is to be used for illustrative purposes only.

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Variance Swaps: An Introduction

VARIANCE SWAP STRATEGIES
In this section, we list some common applications of variance swaps.
Hedging Equity Returns
Variance swaps are often used for portfolio protection. Index implied volatility (and therefore,
variance) is negatively correlated to equity returns. In addition, the payoff of a long variance
swap increases more rapidly than equity returns decrease. Thus, variance swaps can be used as
crash-protection, insulating a portfolio from very negative equity market performance. Figure 4
shows the relationship between monthly changes in 30-day S&P 500 variance (as measured by
the VIX Index) and monthly changes in the S&P 500 Index.
Fig. 4: Relationship between the S&P 500 and VIX Index; 5 Years of Monthly Returns
120%

R2 = 64%

100%

1M VIX Change (%)

80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
-20%
-20%

-15%

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

-40%
1M S&P 500 Return (%)

Source: Bear Stearns Equity Derivatives Strategy, Bloomberg.

Volatility Relative Value and Directional Strategies

Variance swaps can also be used in volatility-based relative value trades. For example, an
investor can buy S&P 500 variance and sell a similar amount of Nasdaq 100 variance. The trade
will be profitable if NDX volatility decreases relative S&P 500 volatility, or if S&P 500
volatility increases less than Nasdaq 100 volatility. This trade was very profitable in the months
following the tech bubble burst in 2000. During this period, the weight of technology stocks in
the Nasdaq 100 decreased significantly; this ultimately caused Nasdaq 100 Index volatility to
decrease significantly as well, especially relative to S&P 500 Index volatility.
Fig. 5: 3M S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 Index Volatility; 2000 Present
S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 3 Months Volatility

100%
90%

Nasdaq 100 3M Volatility

80%

S&P 500 3M Volatility

70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

Sep 00

Aug 01

Jul 02

Jun 03

May 04

Apr 05

Source: Bear Stearns Equity Derivatives Strategy, Bloomberg.

Bear Stearns Equity Derivatives Strategy

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Variance Swaps: An Introduction

Credit and Equity Volatility Relative Value
A companys credit risk (default risk) is related to its stock price and equity volatility. A decline in
stock price usually leads to an increase in both equity volatility and credit risk (as measured, for
instance, by the price of a credit default swap). The charts below illustrate the correlation between
credit risk (as measured by the spread between BAA-rated US corporate 30-year bonds and the
equivalent treasury rate) and volatility in the S&P 500 Index (as measured by the VIX Index) since
April 2000. The correlation between these two measures was 75% during this period.
Fig. 6: Correlation between Credit Risk (Corporate Spread) and Equity Volatility (VIX)
45

3.5

50

40

VIX

30

2.5

25
2
20
15
10
5
0
Apr-00

1.5

VIX
1

BAA Corporates Spread

R2 = 56%

30
VIX

35

BAA Corporates Spread (%)

40

20
10
0

0.5
Mar-01

Feb-02

Jan-03

Dec-03

Nov-04

1.5

2
2.5
BAA Corporates Spread (%)

3.5

Source: Bear Stearns Equity Derivatives Strategy, Bloomberg.

An investor could use a variance swap to hedge the credit risk of a basket of corporate bonds
because of this relationship. A variance swap could also be used in a credit versus equity volatility
relative value trade. Credit spreads and equity volatility have been positively correlated on the
single-stock level; thus, single-stock variance swaps could be used for company-specific capital
structure trades.
Selling Equity Risk
The implied volatility of the S&P 500 has traded at a persistent premium to realized volatility,
as a result of supply/demand inefficiency; there has consistently been excess demand for putprotection in the S&P 500. An investor can capitalize on this market inefficiency by selling
variance swaps to capture the resulting premium. An investor can create several types of longcash, short-variance portfolios that have S&P 500 variance bonds. An example Notional
Variance Bond is created by lending $100M at the risk-free rate and selling $20,000 notional
variance; an example Vega Variance Bond is created by lending $100M at the risk-free rate
and selling $800,000 notional vega variance. By modifying the amount of variance sold, an
investor can tune the degree of leverage for a given strategy to prevent large losses should the
volatility spike. Historical returns for these strategies are shown in the table below.
Fig. 8: 15-Year Historical Returns of Sample S&P 500 Variance Bonds
Return
S&P 500 Index
9.3%
Notional Var Bond 16.5%
Vega Var Bond
15.7%

Risk Information Ratio

15.1%
0.62
9.0%
1.83
6.6%
2.38

Source: Bear Stearns Equity Derivatives Strategy, Bloomberg.

Bear Stearns Equity Derivatives Strategy

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Variance Swaps: An Introduction

Disclaimer
This communication is being provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as a
recommendation or an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security referenced
herein. It is being provided to you by the trading desk referenced above as part of the Firms
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investment decision. Any views expressed herein are those of the individual author and may
differ from those expressed by other Bear Stearns departments, including any of the Bear
Stearns research departments. The author of this communication may receive compensation
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Bear Stearns and its affiliates may have positions (long or short), effect transactions or make
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Note: Options strategies are complex and subject to substantial risks and may not be right for
every investor. Individuals should not enter into option transactions until they have read and
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Options Clearing Corp. Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. Past performance
is not indicative of future results. Supporting documentation will be supplied upon request.

Marko Kolanovic

Bear Stearns Equity Derivatives Strategy

mkolanovic@bear.com

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