Investors who have had money in the markets over the past two years will not be surprised to learn that since June 2007, the volatility index has risen from 16 to a little more than 79, the highest levels recorded in history.

To give perspective to just how high the volatility index climbed, think back to the chaos that followed September 11, 2001. That point, volatility “spiked” to 33. These days, as the index reports a number in the 30 range, the markets seems subdued. This is definitely not the case, which means investors can continue to profit from volatility.

The first thing investors need to do when it comes to taking a run at profit is to distance themselves emotionally from their investments. Trading software that provides signals on when to buy and sell can help in this regard, but this is something most individual investors are unable to accomplish. Think about it: we all work hard for our money and we hate to see it wasted. This is a benefit that money managers have — they haven’t worked hard for the money you invest, so if they lose, they lose your money, not theirs.

The second thing the investor needs to do is understand volatility. This can be done primarily by studing graphs on sites like Yahoo! Finance (type “^VIX” in the quote section) but also by realizing and appreciating the dictionary definition. Volatility is the rate of change in a price’s deviation from its mean. This means that the higher the volatility, the more quickly a price will deviate from it’s mean price.

The final thing the investor should do is control his or her greed. Again, this is difficult to achieve as short-term returns suggest longer-term returns. Again, removing the emotion of greed can be achieved by using trading software that measures concrete factors like volatility, moving averages, momentum, etc..

In summary, by eliminating emotion and relying on technical trends investors can use volatility advantageously. Such volatility can allow for strong gains and returns when used properly. A trading system can assist to a large degree, but is not at all required for investors who can control their emotions and greed.