This thesis examines the characteristics of volatility as an asset class through an analysis of the return characteristics of eight simple volatility trading strategies that involve trading in futures and options on the CBOE volatility index VIX and in S&P 500 Index straddles. Particular attention is paid to the profitability and the potential diversification and hedging benefits arising from adding volatility to an S&P 500 portfolio. While the characteristics of the VIX imply substantial diversification benefits from combining volatility with an S&P 500 portfolio, the overall results for seven out of the eight trading strategies are very disappointing. Except for one VIX futures trading strategy, each trading rule generated large losses. This finding corresponds to the broad empirical evidence for a negative volatility risk premium. More-over, the results indicate that in a persistently low volatility environment, holding near-term VIX futures is very expensive. Trading in long-term futures contracts is much cheaper and therefore, this strategy could provide an interesting instrument to diversify an S&P 500 portfolio. Overall, the findings imply that VIX derivatives cannot replicate the characteristics of the underlying volatility index. The returns of the straddle trading strategies show that the negative time decay effect is particularly important. Hence, straddles should not be created with short-lived options. Furthermore, the results indicate that each volatility trading strategy provides insurance against equity market crashes. Yet, the highly negative volatility risk premium prevents costs effective hedging of S&P 500 portfolios by adding volatility.