The Southern – Mention the words “hedge funds” to most individual investors, and they might think of high-risk, potentially high-return investments that seem to invite trouble.
In fact, most hedge funds are a diverse class of investments that use aggressive investment strategies to seek greater than average total return with lower levels of risk. Hedge funds may use many investment tactics not ordinarily available to the managers of regulated mutual funds, including unlimited short-selling, margin trading to leverage price movements, and the unfettered use of derivatives as direct investment vehicles. There are over 8,000 hedge funds — they come in all shapes and sizes.
