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Hedge

An investment made to reduce risk from adverse price movements.

Hedging involves taking an offsetting position to reduce exposure to price fluctuations. Common hedging instruments include options, futures, and inverse ETFs. While hedges reduce risk, they also typically reduce potential returns. Perfect hedges are rare; most hedging strategies aim to limit rather than eliminate risk.

Key Takeaways

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Quick Reference

Category
risk
Difficulty
Beginner
Reading Time
1 min

Where You'll See This

This concept appears throughout stock detail pages and financial data.