On April 7, 2025, the S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) spiked to around 60 points. Major upward spikes in the VIX are rare, and historical data shows that readings above 50 are generally bullish over the long term.
Based on this setup, there have been six previous instances, and in five of them, returns were positive—averaging 20% within 12 months, using data since 1990. However, if we extend the dataset back to 1950, the average return drops to 9.2%.
