Future, expected, or implied volatility represents the market's current expectation of future price fluctuations. Usually, it is the historical volatility that gets most attention because it is relatively easy to calculate. Elev8, a global Contract for Difference (CFD) broker, notes that retail traders tend to focus almost exclusively on historical volatility. Measuring historical volatility (and what it tells us)Retail trading platforms offer several free, built-in technical indicators to gauge historical volatility. Measuring implied volatility (and what it tells us)While historical volatility indicators are useful for chart analysis, professional fund managers look at implied volatility (IV) to price risk more accurately.