Gender used to mean sex just so you didn't have to say a socially impolite word in more conservative times. Then the definition changed, and now it means what sex you feel like you are. In 2020, it doesn't mean the same thing it meant in 1950. In 2020, hedge fund doesn't mean the same thing it meant in 1950.
The sociologist Alfred W. Jones is credited with coining the phrase "hedged fund"[14][15] and is credited with creating the first hedge fund structure in 1949.[16] Jones referred to his fund as being "hedged", a term then commonly used on Wall Street to describe the management of investment risk due to changes in the financial markets.[17]
In the 1970s, hedge funds specialized in a single strategy with most fund managers following the long/short equity model.
So a long/ short equity model, going long, and short at the same time so that your return is locked in a horizontal line no matter what direction the market moves. Meaning you won't get good returns, you won't get bad returns, and will never get wiped out either. Low reward, but low risk. A hedge.
During the 1990s, the number of hedge funds increased significantly, with the 1990s stock market rise,[14] the aligned-interest compensation structure (i.e., common financial interests) and the promise of above high returns[18] as likely causes. Over the next decade, hedge fund strategies expanded to include: credit arbitrage, distressed debt, fixed income, quantitative, and multi-strategy.[15] US institutional investors such as pension and endowment funds began allocating greater portions of their portfolios to hedge funds.[
Aka, they're based around a strategy, or specific type of security or asset class, today. Could be any strategy. They're "hedges" in name only.
