本期中，作者介绍了避险基金的概念。避险基金是20世纪90年代兴起的一种国际资本市场投资工具，不追求高报酬率，而以减低风险为主，投资对象则从货币期货至证券、大宗货品，无所不包。这类基金的种类很多，并非指单一的一种基金。听上去是不是有点晕？读完本文，也许你就会明白啦！

By Taiping Chang

Introduction: Alfred Winslow Jones (1900–1989), a diplomat, financial journalist and author, is generally credited with forming the first hedge fund in 1949. After he graduated from Harvard in 1923, he served as a vice consul in Berlin, Germany. In 1941, he received his doctorate in Sociology from Columbia University. While he was working at Fortune Magazine in the 1940s, he did extensive research on how to invest in the stock market. In his famous article entitled “Fashions in Forecasting,” he assessed and analyzed each technical method on investment approach. He finally concluded that “leverage” and “short selling” are the best two investment tools. He used “leverage” to buy more shares, and used “short selling” to avoid market risk. He was so successful that his hedge fund had outperformed the best mutual fund over the previous five years by 44 percent, and on a 10-year basis, his fund had beaten the top performer Dreyfus Fund by 87 percent. He was widely recognized as the father of the modern hedge fund.

Tom: I’ve been studying “hedge fund” related issues since we talked about derivatives last time.

Tina: Good for you. Do you know what “hedge” means?

Tom: I know “hedge” means to manage or reduce risk, but I am not sure what a hedge fund is.

Tina: A hedge fund is an investment fund that utilizes a broad range of investments. It uses advanced investment strategies to reduce risk.

Tom: What are advanced investment strategies?

Tina: There are many advanced strategies to invest one’s assets. For example, an investor can use leverage, long or short selling, and derivative positions in both domestic and international markets.

Tom: Is diversification the basic investment strategy of a hedge fund?

Tina: Yes. Have you heard the proverb “don’t put all your eggs in one basket?” Diversification is the key. A successful investor can use “leverage” and “short selling” to hedge against the downside risk of a stock market.

Tom: How does “leverage” work?

Tina: Leverage, also known as gearing or levering, is a general term for any technique to multiply gains and losses. In finance, leverage refers to the use of debt capital to supplement equity capital.

Tom: How about “short selling?”

Tina: Short selling is the selling of a security that isn’t owned by the seller but that is promised to be delivered.

Tom: What? That’s so confusing!

Tina: Let me put this way: short selling is the practice of selling securities that have been borrowed from a third party, usually a stock broker, with the intention of buying identical securities back at a later date to return to the lender.

Tom: What’s the purpose of doing that?

Tina: Well, the short seller hopes to profit from a decline in the price of the security between the sale and the repurchase. If the price drops, the short seller can buy back the stock at the lower price and make a profit on the difference.

Tom: So the goal of using such a strategy is to generate high returns? From all the stories or cases that I have read or heard, it seems to me that most of the hedge funds are highly speculative.

Tina: Exactly. I know some hedge fund managers like to use some complicated strategies that are highly speculative.

Tom: So does that mean that not all hedge funds can “hedge risk”?

Tina: That is right. Some hedge funds may carry more risk than the overall market because some investment methods are highly aggressive and based on market predictions.

Tom: I suppose that a true hedge fund should be less speculative.

Tina: I totally agree. However, even nowadays, the goal of most hedge funds is to maximize return on investment.

Tom: Isn’t it true that after the financial crisis in 2008, many investment institutions are deleveraging aggressively.

Tina: It is true. According to some recent reports, some traditional long-only funds, which used to dominate shareholder registers in the 1990s, will again become prominent.

Tom: Who typically invests in hedge funds anyway?

Tina: Most of the investors are large institutions such as commercial banks, insurance companies, registered investment companies, charitable organizations, corporations, or partnerships with assets in excess of $5 million. Some call this type of investors “accredited investors.”

Tom: Can an individual investor like me invest in hedge funds?

Tina: Only if your income exceeds $200,000 over the last two years. If you are married, you and your spouse’s joint income has to exceed $300,000 over this period. In addition, the same income level is expected in the current year.

Tom: What is the minimum investment?

Tina: It varies from fund to fund. A common starting range is between $250,000 and $500,000. Some well-established funds have much higher minimums, such as $10,000,000 or more, depending on the fund and manager.

Tom: No kidding. I suppose that if you can not afford to lose the money, then you should not invest in hedge funds at all. How about the fee structure?

Tina: It also varies. The most common fees are management and performance fees. Normally the management fee is collected in advance, and the performance fee is calculated annually.

Tom: No wonder some hedge fund manager can make millions of dollars in a year.

(Edited by Samuel Peterson and Jeanne Knechtges Peterson)

Vocabulary

hedge fund 对冲基金，避险基金，其中hedge一词有“回避；避免损失”的意思。hedge fund是20世纪90年代兴起的一种国际资本市场投资工具，不追求高报酬率，而以减低风险为主，投资对象则从货币期货至证券、大宗货品，无所不包。这类基金的种类很多，并非指单一的一种基金。避险基金之下又可分成数种不同的基金，内容十分复杂

vice consul 副领事

extensive 广泛的，彻底全面的

assess 评估，估定

leverage （财务）杠杆作用。是公司筹集资金的一种金融工具。企业投资人以借入的资金经过运转，来提高其投资的收益率

short selling 卖空行为，空头卖出。投资人以贷借的方式，以买空卖空的方式获取利润

outperform 做得比……好，胜过

mutual fund 〈美〉共同基金（一种投资公司形式）

derivative 衍生产品，或作衍生商业工具、衍生商业商品，详见今年第9期的“趣话金融”栏目

long selling 长期销售。一般股票投资人均采用此方式投资，即购买股票，存放一段时间，待股票升值后再卖出，获取利润

diversification 多样化，这里指“（投资的）多元化”

don’t put all your eggs in one basket 不要孤注一掷，不要集中财力干一件事

downside 呈下降趋势的

multiply 使成倍地增加

debt capital 债务资本。一般指公司向银行“贷款”，作为公司运营的资本

supplement 增补，补充

equity capital 权益资本，股本金，股权资本。一般指公司拥有人自己出资或是投资该公司的资本，并非借贷所得的资本

security 证券，有价证券

identical 同一的，相同的

repurchase 买回，购回

high return 高利润，高收益

speculative 投机性的

maximize 使增加（或扩大）到最大限度

deleverage 减债。一个公司企图减少利用债务的杠杆作用而清还公司所欠的债款

traditional long-only fund 长期传统基金。一般“长期”指投资时间超过五年以上

shareholder register 份额持有人名册

prominent 突出的，显著的

charitable organization 慈善组织，慈善机构，如医院、教会、慈善基金会等

in excess of 超过

accredited investor 经认可的投资者，即财务机构必须先审理投资人或是投资机构的财力是否达到所设定的投资能力，经过严格的审理过程才决定是否接受该投资人或是投资机构

management and performance fee 经营管理费和表现费。前者与投资的回报无关，在设立账户的时候，管理该账户的经理即可征收；后者则是按照每年投资的回报征收百分比的费用，投资的回报越高，管理该账户的投资经理所获得的报酬也越高

annually 每年的，年度的

（来源：英语学习杂志）