Volos

What Volos does

Volos Portfolio Solutions, LLC is a Boston-based financial technology company founded in 2014 that provides systematic options strategy development software and proprietary index services to institutional investors globally. The company operates two core product lines: the Volos Strategy Engine, a no-code platform that enables portfolio managers, quants, and product developers to design, backtest, and implement options-based and traditional systematic strategies with high-fidelity transaction cost modeling, and an Index Services business that develops, calculates, and licenses proprietary indexes to ETF issuers. Supporting offerings include the NDX Connect platform (built in partnership with Nasdaq, providing 120 passive Nasdaq-100 options strategies), and QIS Validation Services for independent strategy verification and transaction cost analysis.

The underlying technology consists of a proprietary index calculation engine capable of intra-day calculation and options selection with real-time market data monitoring, a backtesting engine using OptionMetrics historical options pricing data with path-dependency techniques, and a trigger framework that enables active management actions such as option restriking and position monetization. The company maintains 30+ indexes across options overlay strategies that power 11 ETFs across five issuers including ProShares, Global X, First Trust, Samsung Asset Management, and Mirae Asset Management, representing over $10 billion in assets under management.

Volos generates revenue primarily through index licensing (royalty-style fees on AUM tied to ETF products), Strategy Engine SaaS subscriptions (with a free tier and premium enterprise features), and professional services for QIS validation. The go-to-market combines enterprise field sales to ETF issuers, asset managers, hedge funds, banks, pensions, and insurance companies with product-led growth through the self-serve Strategy Engine platform. The company operates globally with active institutional customer relationships in North America and Asia-Pacific, led by Chairman and CEO Peter J. Antico (appointed October 2022) and founder Dan Corcoran (now President).

Name

Volos

Legal name

Volos Portfolio Solutions, LLC

Website

https://volossoftware.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Volos is a Boston-based financial technology company founded in 2014 that provides proprietary options-based indexes and a no-code systematic strategy development platform to institutional investors, powering 11 ETFs across five issuers with $10B+ in AUM.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Index Technology

NAICS

Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (52316), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Equity Index Futures & Options Exchanges (FSAFABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

ESG Indexing & ESG ETFs (Rules-Based ESG Benchmarks and Passive Products) (FSAAALAE)

Keywords

• Systematic options strategies
• ETF index licensing
• Options backtesting software
• Financial index services
• Quantitative investment validation

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Index Licensing: Licensing of proprietary indexes to ETF issuers for use as underlying indexes in ETF products. Volos serves as calculation agent for ETFs from issuers including ProShares, Global X, First Trust, Samsung Asset Management, Mirae Asset Management, Calamos, Kraneshares, NEOS, and others.
2. Strategy Engine Software: SaaS platform providing systematic strategy development and backtesting tools to portfolio managers, quants, and product developers. Free account tier available with premium features for professional use.
3. QIS Validation Services: Independent QIS (Quantitative Investment Strategy) validation and analysis services for buy-side and sell-side institutions. Includes transaction cost analysis, index verification, and risk analysis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Volos develops and licenses proprietary options-based financial indexes for ETF issuers and provides a no-code software platform (Strategy Engine) used by institutional investors to design, backtest, and implement systematic options strategies. It also delivers index calculation, administration, and dissemination services, plus independent QIS validation services for buy-side and sell-side institutions, with indexes powering 11 ETFs across five issuers representing over $10 billion in AUM.

Product overview

Volos is a financial technology company offering a unified platform of systematic options strategy development software and index services for institutional investors. The core offering consists of the Volos Strategy Engine (a no-code platform for designing and backtesting options strategies) and Index Services (end-to-end index construction, validation, administration, monitoring, and dissemination for ETF issuers). Supporting services include QIS Validation Services for independent strategy verification and NDX Connect (a Nasdaq-100 options strategy platform). The company maintains 30+ indexes across options-based strategies that power 11 ETFs across five issuers, including covered call, tail hedge, dispersion, and volatility strategies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Strategy Engine: A no-code platform that allows portfolio managers, quants, and product developers to design any options-based or traditional systematic strategy.
• NDX Connect
• QIS Validation Services

Products and services

• Volos Strategy Engine A no-code platform that allows portfolio managers, quants, and product developers to design any options-based or traditional systematic strategy, with high-fidelity backtesting, pre-built templates, active triggers, BYOD support, Greek attribution, PnL analysis, stress testing, and transaction cost analysis. Accessible via web, Python API, or Excel.
• Index Services End-to-end suite of index services to power ETF development including index construction and analysis, validation, administration, monitoring, and dissemination, supporting options-based ETFs with state-of-the-art strategy and calculation engine.
• QIS Validation Services Independent QIS analytics and validation services for buy-side and sell-side institutions, providing bottoms-up calculation and verification of index rules, transparency into strategy PnL drivers, and transaction cost models compared to real-world pricing.
• NDX Connect Nasdaq-100 index options strategy platform created in partnership with Nasdaq, providing 120 passive NDX options strategies organized by investment objective, allowing institutional investors to analyze, test, and implement options strategies based on desired exposure.
• Volos ETF Overlay Index Family 120 indexes covering 8 major asset classes (EEM, EFA, GLD, HYG, IWM, QQQ, SPY, TLT) and 5 popular options overlay strategies (Covered Call, Protective Put, PutWrite, Collar, Short Put Spread), providing institutional investors with transparent benchmarks on systematic ETF options strategies.
• Nasdaq-100 Dynamic Buffer Index (NDXDBI) A next-generation dynamic buffer index co-developed with Nasdaq, capturing upside participation in the Nasdaq-100 Total Return Index while offering downside protection based on expected market volatility.
• Nasdaq Target Income Indexes (NQDVRIS, NQDVSMR, NQ96DIVUS) Three Nasdaq Target Income Indexes (NQDVRIS, NQDVSMR, NQ96DIVUS) serving as reference benchmarks for First Trust ETFs, focusing on dividend achievers and dividend income strategies within the Nasdaq universe.
• Nasdaq-100 ESG BuyWrite Index (NQYLEI) A Nasdaq-100 ESG BuyWrite Index co-developed with Nasdaq and licensed by Global X, integrating ESG screening with covered call (buy-write) options overlay on the Nasdaq-100.

Quantifiable outcome

• Strategy creation in minutes without code
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• OptionMetricscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 January 2025Collaborative research paper with OptionMetrics exploring methods of improving performance and minimizing risk for dispersion strategies. Research produced using Volos Strategy Engine with OptionMetrics historical options pricing data.
• Samsung Asset ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 October 2024Samsung Asset Management licensed Volos daily covered call indexes (originally co-developed with Nasdaq) for Tiger ETF brand products. Expansion follows successful launch of same indexes by ProShares in early 2024.
• Mirae Asset ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 October 2024Mirae Asset Management licensed Volos daily covered call indexes for Kodex ETF brand products. Partnership brings sophisticated options-based income strategies to broader Asian investor base.
• ProSharescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2024ProShares licensed Volos indexes for options-based ETF products including the ProShares Nasdaq 100 High Income ETF (IQQQ). Volos serves as calculation agent for the underlying indexes. Partnership celebrated with Nasdaq Closing Bell Ceremony in Times Square. Also includes dynamic buffer index NDXDBI licensed in July 2025.
• First TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2023First Trust launched three ETFs tracking Nasdaq Target Income Indexes with Volos serving as index calculation agent. Indexes include Nasdaq US Rising Dividend Achievers Index (NQDVRIS), Nasdaq US Small-Mid Cap Rising Dividend Achievers Index (NQDVSMR), and Nasdaq Technology Dividend Index (NQ96DIVUS).
• Interactive BrokerssecondaryGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 September 2023Collaborative webinar on 'Hey ChatGPT, How Can I Hedge My Portfolio?' exploring AI software in option-based portfolio management. Webinar hosted by Nasdaq with Volos Director of Operations showcasing Strategy Engine features.
• Global XcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 February 2023Global X licensed the Volos co-developed Nasdaq 100 ESG Covered Call Index (NQYLEI) for a new ETF product. This innovative index utilizes Volos technology for precise execution and management.
• NasdaqcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership for index calculation agent and co-development of innovative options-based indexes. Volos serves as trusted calculation partner for Nasdaq Investment Intelligence. Partnership includes NDX Connect platform (120 NDX options strategies), co-development of Nasdaq-100 ESG BuyWrite Index (NQYLEI), and dynamic buffer index (NDXDBI). Volos has relationships with multiple Nasdaq divisions including Index Options Content and Options Exchange.
• CalamossecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorETF issuer that has licensed Volos indexes for ETF products. Listed among ETF issuers supported by Volos.
• KranesharessecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorETF issuer that has licensed Volos indexes for ETF products. Listed among ETF issuers supported by Volos.
• NEOSsecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorETF issuer that has licensed Volos indexes for ETF products. Listed among ETF issuers supported by Volos.
• Zega FinancialsecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorETF issuer that has licensed Volos indexes for ETF products. Listed among ETF issuers supported by Volos.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bloomberg Index Services Ltd: Bloomberg operates one of the largest proprietary index families globally and licenses them for ETF and structured product issuance. Directly comparable to Volos as a B2B index licensing and calculation business serving ETF issuers and institutional clients.
• Solactive: Solactive is a German index provider specializing in custom and thematic indexes licensed to ETF issuers globally. Most directly comparable to Volos as a focused, fast-growing custom-index specialist competing in the same niche.

Broad incumbents

• MSCI: MSCI is a leading global index provider with extensive derivatives-linked index offerings (MSCI World, MSCI EAFE option overlay strategies). Overlaps with Volos in equity index methodology, ETF licensing, and serving institutional asset managers.
• S&P Dow Jones Indices: S&P Dow Jones Indices is a major index franchise operating at scale across equity, fixed income, and commodities. Comparable to Volos in licensing proprietary indexes to ETF issuers and running index calculation operations.
• FTSE Russell (LSEG): FTSE Russell is a global index provider owned by LSEG offering equity, fixed income, and alternative indexes licensed to ETF issuers. Comparable business model to Volos in index design, calculation, and licensing for institutional clients.
• Morningstar Indexes: Morningstar Indexes provides proprietary benchmarks used in ETFs and other investment products, with growing capabilities in factor, ESG, and thematic indexing. Comparable to Volos as an index design and licensing firm serving the ETF ecosystem.
• STOXX: STOXX is a global index provider operating one of Europe's largest index families, with strong derivatives-linked index offerings. Comparable to Volos in equity index methodology and ETF licensing across European institutional clients.
• ICE (Intercontinental Exchange) Indices: ICE operates major index franchises including ICE BofA fixed income indices and commodity benchmarks, with deep ties to derivatives exchanges. Comparable to Volos in serving institutional clients with index-linked investment products.

Emerging players

• CRSP (Center for Research in Security Prices): CRSP provides equity benchmarks licensed for ETF products (notably the Vanguard CRSP suite). Comparable as an index calculation specialist serving ETF issuers, though with broader equity index focus rather than options overlay specialization.
• QuantConnect: QuantConnect provides algorithmic strategy development and backtesting infrastructure used by quants and asset managers. Comparable to Volos's Strategy Engine platform as a technology layer for systematic strategy creation, though focused on equities rather than options.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/volossoftware
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/5274655

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Volos