VIX COT positioning
Leveraged funds are net short 31,479 contracts in VIX futures as of Nov 3, 2026, with positioning at 57 of 100 within its 52-week range. From the weekly CFTC Commitments of Traders report.
Positions as of Tue, Nov 3, 2026 · published Fri, Nov 6, 2026 · Source: CFTC
Leveraged funds added to their short position over the past week. That leaves positioning at 57 on a 0–100 scale between its 52-week low and high — with room to move before it reaches an extreme.
Remember this contract is inverted: these are bets on volatility, so a long position is a hedge against falling stocks. The bias above is already expressed for risk assets — the opposite of the VIX itself.
What moves VIX positioning
VIX futures are a bet on expected stock-market volatility, so this report reads inversely to everything else here: more longs mean more fear (a hedge against falling stocks), which is risk-off. WAVG flips the bias accordingly — a bullish VIX positioning signal is bearish for equities.
Structurally, many participants are net short volatility, harvesting the roll as VIX futures usually trade above spot. That short-vol crowd works until it doesn't: when a shock forces it to cover, volatility spikes violently. Extreme positioning in VIX is best read as a warning about the stability of the equity rally, not a stand-alone trade.
This week's report
| Trader group | Long | Short | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leveraged funds | 66,970 | 98,449 | −31,479 |
| Asset managers | 54,516 | 90,030 | −35,514 |
| Dealers | 99,721 | 34,329 | +65,392 |
Contracts held long, short and net as of Nov 3, 2026 (published Nov 6, 2026). Source: CFTC.
The last 13 weeks
| Week ending | Leveraged funds net | Change | Index (52w) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 2026 | −12,127 | −15,900 | 81 |
| Aug 18, 2026 | −19,093 | −6,966 | 75 |
| Aug 25, 2026 | −30,143 | −11,050 | 65 |
| Sep 1, 2026 | −26,258 | +3,885 | 65 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | −23,270 | +2,988 | 68 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | −16,504 | +6,766 | 75 |
| Sep 22, 2026 | −15,015 | +1,489 | 76 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | −7,467 | +7,548 | 83 |
| Oct 6, 2026 | +5,494 | +12,961 | 95 |
| Oct 13, 2026 | +1,105 | −4,389 | 91 |
| Oct 20, 2026 | −20,890 | −21,995 | 68 |
| Oct 27, 2026 | −26,334 | −5,444 | 63 |
| Nov 3, 2026 | −31,479 | −5,145 | 57 |
Net position of leveraged funds at each weekly reporting date, the change from the week before, and the COT index for that week. The index compares a week against this market’s own 52-week range: 0 is the low end of that range, 100 the high end — a high reading is not the same as a long position. Source: CFTC.
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