What is the strategy employed by a relative value hedge fund?

A relative value hedge fund employs a strategy centered on holding both long and short positions in related securities. This approach allows the fund to take advantage of pricing discrepancies between different securities or related instruments. By going long on undervalued securities and short on overvalued counterparts, the fund seeks to generate profit from the relative movements of these securities, rather than relying on a directional bet on the market itself.

This strategy capitalizes on the assumption that the price relationships between the securities will converge over time, thereby allowing the fund manager to generate returns regardless of the overall market direction. Given the complexity of market dynamics, such a strategy can offer both risk mitigation and potential alpha generation, making it a staple approach within relative value hedge funds.

Other strategies, such as a long-only position in equities or a focus solely on commodities, do not align with the principle of exploiting relative mispricings in a diversified manner. Additionally, short-selling all assets is an approach that lacks the necessary balance of long positions, which is essential to the relative value concept.