A sophisticated absolute return fund that seeks to make money for its investors regardless of how global markets are performing. To that end, they invest in shares, bonds, currencies and commodities using a raft of investment techniques such as gearing, short selling, derivatives, futures, options and interest rate swaps. Most are based “offshore” and are not regulated by the financial authorities. Although ordinary investors can gain exposure to hedge funds through certain types of investment funds, direct investment is for the wealthy as most funds require potential investors to have liquid assets greater than £150,000m.
Last updated: Aug 2nd, 2011
Relevant to: Funds
Commodities
A term applied to raw materials (gold, oil) and foodstuffs (wheat, pork bellies) traded on exchanges throughout the world. Since no one really wants to transport all those heavy materials, what is actually traded are commodities futures contracts or options. These are agreements to buy or sell at an agreed price on a specific date. Because commodity prices are volatile, investing in futures is certainly not for the casual investor.
Futures
A type of derivative often lumped together with options, but slightly different. The original derivative was a future used by farmers to set the price of their produce in advance before they sowed the seeds so that after the harvest, crops would be sold at the pre-agreed price no matter what the movements of the market. So a future is a contract to buy or sell a fixed quantity of a particular commodity, currency or security (share, bond) for delivery at a fixed date in the future for a fixed price. At the end of a futures contract, the holder is obliged to pay or receive the difference between the price set in the contract and the market price on the expiry date, which can generate massive profits or vast losses.
Gearing
Investors who borrow money they use for investment and use the securities they buy as collateral for the loan are said to be “gearing up” the portfolio (in the US, gearing is referred to as “leveraging”) and widely used by investment trusts. The greater the gearing as a proportion of the overall portfolio, the greater the potential for profit or loss. If markets rise in value, the investor can pay back the loan and retain the profit but if markets fall, the investor may not be able to cover the borrowing and interest costs, and will make a loss. Also used to describe the ratio of a company’s borrowing in relation to its market capitalisation and the gearing ratio measures the extent to which a company is funded by debt. A company with high gearing is more vulnerable to downturns in the business cycle because the company must continue to service its debt regardless of how bad sales are.
Offshore
The practice of locating your financial affairs (banking, savings, investments) in a country other than the one you’re a citizen of, usually a low-tax jurisdiction. The appeal of offshore is it offers the potential for tax efficiency, the convenience of easy international access and a safe haven for your money. However, offshore is governed by complex, ever-changing rules (such as 2005’s European Union Savings Directive) and, as such, is the exclusive province of the wealthy and high-net-worth individuals.
Short selling
Selling of a security (mainly shares) that the trader does not own. The shares are borrowed from a long-term investor (a pension fund), sold into the market and, when the shares fall in price, they are bought back at the lower price and then returned to the lender with a small commission. The short seller’s profit is the difference between the price at which the borrowed shares were sold and the price at which the borrowed shares were bought back.
