hedge fund

A private investment fund using pooled capital and employing diverse, often aggressive strategies — including leverage, short selling, and derivatives — to generate returns regardless of market direction. Available only to accredited (wealthy) investors.

• hedge/hɛdʒ/(v/n)对冲

• hedge fund manager
• hedge fund strategy
• hedge fund returns
• invest in a hedge fund
• hedge fund industry

1. 1.George Soros's hedge fund made $1 billion in a single day in 1992 by short-selling the British pound, forcing the UK out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. (financial power)
2. 2.Despite their mystique, the average hedge fund has underperformed a simple S&P 500 index fund over the last decade — high fees eat into returns. (performance reality)

• alternative investment fund (a fund using non-traditional strategies)
• private fund (investment vehicle for accredited investors)

"hedge" from Old English "hecg" (fence, boundary) — originally a fund that "hedged" bets by going both long and short — the fence between risk and reward