Long-Short Equity

Long-short funds hold sizable stakes in both long and short positions in... Long-short funds hold sizable stakes in both long and short positions in equities and related derivatives. Some funds that fall into this category will shift their exposure to long and short positions depending on their macro outlook or the opportunities they uncover through bottom-up research. Some funds may simply hedge long stock positions through exchange-traded funds or derivatives. At least 75% of the assets are in equity securities or derivatives. A Long-short manager buys stocks deemed undervalued, and sells short stocks deemed overvalued. Ideally, a fund makes money on both its long and short positions. However, it’s possible for a fund to make enough money on long positions to more than offset losses on shorts (or vice versa). A common strategy is to do a pairs trade, where one stock in a particular industry is purchased, and another stock in the same sector is sold short. Long-Short funds are attractive because they’re not at the whim of the overall market, and can outperform no matter the environment. They’re not without risk, however. In particular, a massive rally in a stock sold short can impose significant losses on a fund if the stock has a large weighting in the portfolio. Last Updated: 11/04/2024 View more View less

Long-short funds hold sizable stakes in both long and short positions in equities and related derivatives. Some funds that fall into this category will shift their exposure to long and short positions depending... Long-short funds hold sizable stakes in both long and short positions in equities and related derivatives. Some funds that fall into this category will shift their exposure to long and short positions depending on their macro outlook or the opportunities they uncover through bottom-up research. Some funds may simply hedge long stock positions through exchange-traded funds or derivatives. At least 75% of the assets are in equity securities or derivatives. A Long-short manager buys stocks deemed undervalued, and sells short stocks deemed overvalued. Ideally, a fund makes money on both its long and short positions. However, it’s possible for a fund to make enough money on long positions to more than offset losses on shorts (or vice versa). A common strategy is to do a pairs trade, where one stock in a particular industry is purchased, and another stock in the same sector is sold short. Long-Short funds are attractive because they’re not at the whim of the overall market, and can outperform no matter the environment. They’re not without risk, however. In particular, a massive rally in a stock sold short can impose significant losses on a fund if the stock has a large weighting in the portfolio. Last Updated: 11/04/2024 View more View less