Long - Short investment strategies share the common aim of staving off potentially devastating market downturns
Since such an event is impossible to time, asset allocations are focused on bottom-up company evaluations to secure long-term appreciation regardless of the direction of the broader market by taking long positions based on fundamental analysis, value and momentum
Short position overlays - included selectively and tactically under active management - seek to account for evolving market conditions
The funds selected in the Long - Short theme rely on various short tactics
- hedging the portfolio with S&P 500 Index futures
- purchasing put options on equity securities or indices
- purchasing volatility futures - negatively correlated to the market
- shorting equities with poor fundamentals or a likelihood to cut dividends
The selected overlay positions may prove to be premature or costly, as the wide range of ETF performances seems to imply
For deeper insights, rank the fund selection by performance or by volatility for the selected time period
Over time, fund price momentum signals trends of the last 5 days against a 20-day average
For comparison, select various time frames in the top right menu box, from 2 weeks to a full year (performance of some very recently listed ETFs may not be significant for lack of price data)