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A hedge fund is an investment fund open to a limited range of investors that undertakes a wider range of investment and trading activities than traditional long-only investment funds, and that, in general, pays a performance fee to its investment manager. Every hedge fund has its own investment strategy that determines the type of investments and the methods of investment it undertakes. Hedge funds, as a class, invest in a broad range of investments including shares, debt and commodities. Some people consider the fund created in 1949 by Alfred Winslow Jones to be the first hedge fund.[citation needed] As the name implies, hedge funds often seek to hedge some of the risks inherent in their investments using a variety of methods, most notably short selling and derivatives. However, the term "hedge fund" has also come to be applied to certain funds that, as well as (or instead of) hedging certain risks, use short selling and other "hedging" methods as a trading strategy to generate a return on their capital. In most jurisdictions hedge funds are open only to a limited range of professional or wealthy investors who meet certain criteria set by regulators, and are accordingly exempted from many regulations that govern ordinary investment funds. The exempted regulations typically cover short selling, the use of derivatives and leverage, fee structures, and the rules by which investors can remove their capital from the fund. Light regulation and the presence of performance fees are the distinguishing characteristics of hedge funds. The net asset value of a hedge fund can run into many billions of dollars, and the gross assets of the fund will usually be higher still due to leverage. Hedge funds dominate certain specialty markets such as trading within derivatives with high-yield ratings and distressed debt.[1] More details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedge_…
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A hedge fund is a fund that can take both long and short positions, use arbitrage, buy and sell undervalued securities, trade options or bonds, and invest in almost any opportunity in any market where it foresees impressive gains at reduced risk. Hedge fund strategies vary enormously many hedge against downturns in the markets -- especially important today with volatility and anticipation of corrections in overheated stock markets. The primary aim of most hedge funds is to reduce volatility and risk while attempting to preserve capital and deliver positive returns under all market conditions. There are approximately 14 distinct investment strategies used by hedge funds, each offering different degrees of risk and return. A macro hedge fund, for example, invests in stock and bond markets and other investment opportunities, such as currencies, in hopes of profiting on significant shifts in such things as global interest rates and countries’ economic policies. A macro hedge fund is more volatile but potentially faster growing than a distressed-securities hedge fund that buys the equity or debt of companies about to enter or exit financial distress. An equity hedge fund may be global or country specific, hedging against downturns in equity markets by shorting overvalued stocks or stock indexes. A relative value hedge fund takes advantage of price or spread inefficiencies. Knowing and understanding the characteristics of the many different hedge fund strategies is essential to capitalizing on their variety of investment opportunities. It is important to understand the differences between the various hedge fund strategies because all hedge funds are not the same -- investment returns, volatility, and risk vary enormously among the different hedge fund strategies. Some strategies which are not correlated to equity markets are able to deliver consistent returns with extremely low risk of loss, while others may be as or more volatile than mutual funds. A successful fund of funds recognizes these differences and blends various strategies and asset classes together to create more stable long-term investment returns than any of the individual funds. Hedge fund strategies vary enormously – many, but not all, hedge against market downturns – especially important today with volatility and anticipation of corrections in overheated stock markets. The primary aim of most hedge funds is to reduce volatility and risk while attempting to preserve capital and deliver positive (absolute) returns under all market conditions. The popular misconception is that all hedge funds are volatile -- that they all use global macro strategies and place large directional bets on stocks, currencies, bonds, commodities or gold, while using lots of leverage. In reality, less than 5% of hedge funds are global macro funds. Most hedge funds use derivatives only for hedging or don’t use derivatives at all, and many use no leverage. Key Characteristics of Hedge Funds Hedge funds utilize a variety of financial instruments to reduce risk, enhance returns and minimize the correlation with equity and bond markets. Many hedge funds are flexible in their investment options (can use short selling, leverage, derivatives such as puts, calls, options, futures, etc.). Hedge funds vary enormously in terms of investment returns, volatility and risk. Many, but not all, hedge fund strategies tend to hedge against downturns in the markets being traded. Many hedge funds have the ability to deliver non-market correlated returns. Many hedge funds have as an objective consistency of returns and capital preservation rather than magnitude of returns. Most hedge funds are managed by experienced investment professionals who are generally disciplined and diligent. Pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, private banks and high net worth individuals and families invest in hedge funds to minimize overall portfolio volatility and enhance returns. Most hedge fund managers are highly specialized and trade only within their area of expertise and competitive advantage. Hedge funds benefit by heavily weighting hedge fund managers’ remuneration towards performance incentives, thus attracting the best brains in the investment business. In addition, hedge fund managers usually have their own money invested in their fund.
(Rated by 3 Council Members)
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A hedge fund is an investment fund open to a limited range of investors that undertakes a wider range of investment and trading activities than traditional long-only investment funds, and that, in general, pays a performance fee to its investment manager. Hedge funds, as a class, invest in a broad range of investments including shares, debt and commodities. Hedge funds often seek to hedge some of the risks inherent in their investments using a variety of methods, most notably short selling and derivatives. However, the term "hedge fund" has also come to be applied to certain funds that, as well as (or instead of) hedging certain risks, use short selling and other "hedging" methods as a trading strategy to generate a return on their capital. It can take both long and short positions, use arbitrage, buy and sell undervalued securities, trade options or bonds, and invest in almost any opportunity in any market where it foresees impressive gains at reduced risk. Hedge fund strategies vary enormously -- many hedge against downturns in the markets -- especially important today with volatility and anticipation of corrections in overheated stock markets. The primary aim of most hedge funds is to reduce volatility and risk while attempting to preserve capital and deliver positive returns under all market conditions. In a nutshell: # Hedge fund strategies tend to hedge against downturns in the markets being traded. # Many hedge funds have the ability to deliver non-market correlated returns. # Many hedge funds have as an objective consistency of returns and capital preservation rather than magnitude of returns.
(Rated by 2 Council Members)
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