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Beginner’s Guide to Hedging in Finance: What is Hedging?

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Hedging is one of the most common and useful terms in the investment world. However, if you're just a beginner looking to step into the investment world, you might not be familiar with hedging. So, before you start investing, continue reading as we explore the strategy of hedging for you, including its meaning, benefits, risks, and much more. 

Let's start with the basics. What is hedging? Well, think of hedging as protection for your finances. However, always remember hedging is not a guarantee to protect your finances preventing all kinds of negative circumstances. But it surely helps reduce the risk intensity. 

Be it individual investors or portfolio experts, hedging is popular among everyone to reduce their risk exposure. All in all, hedging in the stock market is one of the effective strategies to protect your portfolio. 

Understanding Hedging in the Stock Market

 Now that we have understood what is hedging in the general scenario, let's move forward. Let's try and understand the meaning of hedging in the stock market. 

Using the hedging strategy, you buy one asset to reduce the risk of another asset. In the stock market, hedging is a risk management strategy that aims to control and reduce the risk coming from market uncertainty. With hedging, you may limit your investment losses coming from price fluctuations in the case of an unpredictable market situation. Simply, understand this as a cushion to secure your financial assets. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Hedging

As mentioned, hedging is an investment strategy. And like every other strategy, it has its benefits and disadvantages.

Here are some popular advantages of hedging. 

  • It helps you shield your profits. 

  • It comes in handy to cope with market fluctuations. 

  • Hedging is a quite popular loss-reducing strategy that helps. 

  • Boosts liquidity by empowering investors to invest in several different assets.

  • It is a time-saving strategy, eliminating the hustle of monitoring their stocks and their updates daily for long-term investors. 

Here are some disadvantages of hedging.

  • Reducing your risks also means reducing the extent of your earnings. 

  • It is possible to go wrong with your hedging predictions. 

  • Hedging is just a financial strategy and not insurance. This means it does not offer definite guaranteed protection. It simply reduces risks. 

What Hedges Means for You

Are you always going to hedge? The simple answer is no. In fact, for several traders and buy-and-hold investors, understanding the short-term ups and downs of the market is not that important. This is so because the growth of their investment aligns with the market growth. But still understanding hedging can come in handy in several ways. Let's see how.

Big enterprises like oil companies and more usually hedge. This affects overall investments and market sentiment. Once you understand the basics of hedging, you can analyse these investments in greater depth. 

Types of Hedges  

There are 3 popular types of hedges. Have a look. 

  • Forward Contract

Forward contracts are used by two individual parties coming together in a non-standardized agreement to engage in the buying or selling of an asset at a pre-set price on a specific date. 

You can find several contracts in future contracts. For example, it includes forward exchange contacts, for commodities or currencies. 

  • Futures Contract

Futures contracts are standardized in nature. The rest of the fundamentals remain the same. Here, as well, two individuals agree to sell or buy a stock at a pre-set price on a specific date. 

This includes several types of contracts, ranging from currency contracts to commodity contracts, and more. 

  • Money Markets

A crucial component involves borrowing, sales, or short-term lending where the maturity period is a year or less. 

This includes a variety of transactions, ranging from currency trading and calls on stocks to short-term borrowing or selling. 

Example of a Forward Hedge

Let's understand the forward hedge with an example. Say there is farming engaged in rice production and rice futures contract. Now, the farmer planted his seeds during the monsoon and has to sell his harvest in winter or during the fall. Meanwhile, the farmer speculates that there is a price risk during the harvest season. While selling his produce, the farmer may also sell a rice futures contract of 7 months at ₹100. This is a classic example of a forward hedge. 

When these seven months pass, the farmer can now sell their harvest at the current price. Now imagine the price dropped to $80 per bag, meaning they sell their produce at the same price. Now, they can also purchase their future contracts at $80, making a profit of ₹20. 

Here is a simplification of the above example. 

₹80 as selling price + ₹20 hedging gains = ₹100. 

Risks of Hedging in Stock Market

Like every other investment strategy, hedging also has certain risks associated with it. Here are some common risks of hedging. 

  • Pricey

Hedging can not always be a cost-effective approach. Certain types of hedges can have extra costs involved. 

  • Can be Ineffective at Times

As said earlier, hedging is not a definite guarantee. Poorly structured hedges can not bring effective results. 

  • Is Not a Definite Market Compass

Market conditions cannot be completely predicted. This means hedging can help you cut the risk a little but not eliminate it. 

Strategies of Hedging

Have a look at some popular strategies of hedging to minimize your risks and improve your returns. 

  • Structuring of Your Hedges

This includes investing in the right options to maintain an effective structure. For example, debt investments are stable, while derivatives are useful against several dangers. 

  • Asset Allocation is Important

 Asset allocation is a quite popular strategy of hedging. Here, the aim is portfolio diversification to reduce the risks. 

  • Don't Forget to Scroll Options

Also, explore put and call options that give your portfolio an additional level of security. 

Examples of Hedging

Here are some real-life examples of hedging. 

  • Currency Hedging

Businesses that are generally involved with overseas companies hold currency hedging positions. The same can help them conquer the losses coming from fluctuations in the rate of exchange. 

  • Stock market hedging

One of the most common examples of stock market hedging is purchasing buy options. This empowers an investor to sell their stocks at a pre-set price in the stock market. 

What is De-Hedging? 

De-hedging can be understood as a simple procedure to close or exit your hedge position. Individuals generally de-hedge in case they no longer see the hedging position useful or if the hedge seems to be too expensive. Individuals willing to take risks of an unhedged position can also opt for de-hedging. 

Conclusion

When talking about the stock market, risk is inevitable. However, with certain strategies like hedging, you can control some level of these risks. Thus, it becomes crucial to closely understand hedging, types of hedges, effective hedging strategies, and other involved concepts. You may or may not use these, however, basic understanding keeps you aware of the market and your investments.

Disclaimer: Investments in the securities market are subject to market risk, read all related documents carefully before investing.

This content is for educational purposes only. Securities quoted are exemplary and not recommendatory.

For All Disclaimers Click Here: https://bit.ly/3Tcsfuc

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is hedging, and why is it used in finance?

Answer Field

Hedging is an investment strategy used by investors to reduce their risks. They follow a variety of hedging strategies for the same including portfolio diversification, allocation of assets, and more.

What are the most common hedging techniques available to investors?

Answer Field

Some of the most common hedging techniques available to investors are futures contracts, options, forward contracts, currency hedging, swaps, etc.

How does hedging reduce risk in investment portfolios?

Answer Field

Hedging is a popular risk-management strategy to protect your portfolio. This strategy works by deviating the potential risks from your portfolio that may occur from common market fluctuations. It reduces your losses, brings stability and thus, comes in handy for your portfolio management.

What are the costs and risks associated with hedging?

Answer Field

Hedging offers a variety of benefits. However, it is important to understand that it has certain costs and risks involved as well. This includes risks relating to its inefficiency, price, and inability to gauge market fluctuations.

Who typically uses hedging strategies, and in which markets are they most common?

Answer Field

Hedging strategies can be used by anyone and everyone, including professional traders, individual investors, retail traders, companies, and so on.

Hedging strategies can be used in several markets including stock market, commodity markets, and foreign exchange markets.

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