HDGs index aims to emulate the risk and return characteristics of another index - one of reporting hedge funds - by crunching the return series and allocating to various liquid asset classes. To do so, the index utilizes a model to establish a weighted long or short positions each month in six underlying factors, such as (1) the S&P 500 Total Return Index, (2) the MSCI EAFE US Dollar Net Total Return Index, (3) the MSCI Emerging Markets US Dollar Net Total Return Index, (4) the Russell 2000 Total Return Index, (5) three-month U.S. Treasury Bills, and (6) the ProShares UltraShort Euro ETF. This math produces a huge stake in short-dated Treasuries, which reduces portfolio volatility but doesnt add much else. Its the remaining equity allocation that provides all the movement, in fact, too much so. The fund and the index does not include hedge funds as components.
Need a custom stock scraper? Want to do some machine learning? We are here to help! Reach out to us!