Option-implied risk measures: An empirical examination on the S&P 500 index

The forward-looking nature of option market data allows one to derive economically based and model-free risk measures. This article proposes an extensive analysis of the performances of option-implied value at risk and conditional value at risk and compares them with classical risk measures for the S&P 500 index. Delivering good results both at short and long time horizons, the proposed option-implied risk metrics emerge as a convenient alternative to the existing risk measures.