Darius McDermott: Make volatility work for you

Short-term noise or something sinister?

Volatility is healthy and a sign that markets are normalising, argues Darius McDermott, before considering how advisers and their clients can make the return of volatility work for them.

Up until a couple of months ago, an eerie sense of calm had settled across markets. The VIX  index - one of the most commonly-used gauges of market fear - continued to fall to new all-time lows during the second half of last year. In January, it came within touching point of reaching yet another record low. Of course, nothing lasts forever - especially not when it comes to markets - and, in February, volatility suddenly spiked as equities sold off across the globe. According to FE Analytics, over the first three months of the year, the VIX was up by a substantial two-thirds. This is p...