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Volatility Of Volatility

Quick Reference

PropertyValue
Dimensionregime
Categoryvolatility
Versionv0.9.0 (Beta)
Output Columnvol_of_vol

Volatility of volatility: rolling_std(realized_vol, window) - instability in the volatility process itself

Formula

rolling_std(realized_vol, window)

CDM Inputs

ColumnCDM TableDescription
realized_volcdm_*CDM source table

Parameters

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
windowinteger [2, 10000]20Window size for volatility-of-volatility calculation

Output

Column: vol_of_vol

Rolling standard deviation of realized volatility

Market Intuition & Trading Rationale

Vol-of-vol measures the stability of volatility: rolling_std(realized_vol, window). High vol-of-vol means volatility itself is fluctuating wildly 鈥?the market is switching between calm and turbulent regimes. Low vol-of-vol means volatility is stable 鈥?the current regime is persistent. Vol-of-vol often spikes before volatility itself changes, making it a leading indicator for regime transitions.

Usage Cases

  • Volatility forecasting confidence: Low vol-of-vol 鈫?vol forecasts are reliable (stable regime). High vol-of-vol 鈫?vol forecasts are unreliable (regime is shifting). Scale position sizes based on forecast confidence.
  • Regime transition early warning: Rising vol-of-vol while vol is stable 鈫?the vol regime is about to break. Prepare for a volatility event.
  • regime context: Used in realized_volatility_spectrum pack 鈥?vol-of-vol distinguishes stable vol regimes (where term structure is informative) from unstable ones (where term structure is noise).

YAML Definition

name: volatility_of_volatility
description: 'Volatility of volatility: rolling_std(realized_vol, window) - instability
in the volatility process itself'
category: volatility
version: v0.9.0 (Beta)
dimension: regime
status: Pre-release
required_inputs:
- realized_vol
output_column: vol_of_vol
output_description: Rolling standard deviation of realized volatility
parameters:
window:
type: integer
description: Window size for volatility-of-volatility calculation
required: false
default: 20
constraints:
min: 2
max: 10000
formula: rolling_std(realized_vol, window)