Only three weeks ago, the equity markets were posting all-time highs every day and volatility was extremely low; in fact, on the day we last wrote you, January 11, 2018, the CBOE Volatility Index closed at 9.88.[1] This index measures equity market volatility by inference from the prices of equity options; high volatility is typically interpreted as investor nervousness; lower volatility as the lack of nervousness, and extremely low volatility as complacency.