Where can I trade the Crash 500 index?
As far as I am aware there is no such thing as the Crash Index offered by any respectable broker. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Here, I think it’s likely that you are referring to the VIX index, also known as the greed and fear index.
The index tracks the level of volatility that exists within options on the individual S&P 500 constituent stocks, which are the largest US blue-chip companies.
The index can range between 0 and 100 and typically rises when volatility or fear is heightened in what we know today as Risk-off markets The VIX index falls when volatility or fear fades away, as markets move back to a Risk-on sentiment.
For details about finding a broker that offers trading in VIX index and trading volatility indices please read our guide about predicting a market crash and what you can do about it.
If you are in the UK only ever trade with a broker that is regulated by the FCA. Never with an offshore broker as you lose the protection that the FSCS provides to private clients.
You can compare different types of brokers for speculating on market crashes here:
Richard founded the Good Money Guide (previously Good Broker Guide) in 2015 and has been a broker for 20 years most recently at Investors Intelligence and previously a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF Global (Man Financial). Richard started his career working as a private client stockbroker at Walker Crips and Phillip Securities (now King and Shaxson) after interning on the NYMEX oil trading floor in New York and London IPE in 2001 & 2000.
