Online broker eToro has added eight Commodities to its investment platform, including:

• Corn
• Soybeans
• Carbon Emissions
• Gasoline
• Heating Oil
• Live Cattle
• Lean Hogs
• Coffee Arabica.

Also, traders will be able to invest in $VIX.FUT. The VIX volatility index is a real-time measure of expected S&P 500 index volatility. It is often referred to as the investors ‘fear gauge’, a timely barometer for market stress and uncertainty.

The VIX is calculated from the prices of the put (right to sell) and call (right to buy) options on the S&P 500 index in the next 30-days. The more investors are prepared to pay for such market insurance, the greater the perceived risk.

A high VIX means S&P 500 options markets expect an increase in market volatility. The higher the VIX the higher this ‘fear’. This has a strong negative correlation with the stock market, reflected in its popularity as a market hedging tool. The VIX is also inherently mean-reverting and therefore not a ‘buy-and-hold instrument. Unlike stocks, volatility cannot rise forever, nor fall to zero.

At extremes, the VIX is also often used as a contrarian indicator, of either overdone investor fear or of complacency. This is reflected in the market axiom ‘when the VIX is high, it’s time to buy’, and ‘when the VIX is low, look out below’.

These assets expire monthly. This means that are subject to a contract that closes on a monthly basis. Any open trades on these markets will be closed automatically on the contract’s expiration date.