AIMA

The Alternative Investment Management Association

Alternative Investment Management Association

You are:

Glossary

AIMA's Glossary has been developed for all those with an interest in the alternative investment industry - from the beginner to the advanced practitioner.

You will find a considerable overlap of content with the traditional fund management industry - the instruments used, the service providers employed, etc.  However, the hedge fund industry is individual in the way in which it uses these resources.

For reasons of law and accuracy, this is not a wiki.  It is a work-in-progress, however, and we invite you to submit new items for inclusion below (including the proposed definition).

  • We express our sincere thanks to Stanley Marchon, Vincent Kuhn, Nicolas Watin-Augouard, Stephen Foster and Sunil Gopalan for the creation of this resource. 
  • Special thanks are also extended to Anne Taulbut and Jennifer Nye of Katten Muchin Rosenman Cornish for the extensive legal review.
   
VaR

See Value-at-Risk (VaR).

vertical spread

Any of several types of option spread involving the simultaneous purchase and sale of options of the same class and expiration date but different strike prices, including bull vertical spreads, bear vertical spreads, back spreads, and front spreads.

volatility

A statistical measurement of the rate of price change of a futures contract, security, or other instrument underlying an option. See Historical Volatility, Implied Volatility.

volatility arbitrage

An approach by which a manager seeks to take advantage of fluctuations and inefficiencies in financial markets, usually the stock market. A common form of volatility arbitrage is an option arbitrage investment strategy, which can be carried out as a market-neutral investment strategy or with a long bias toward volatility.

volatility trading

Strategies designed to speculate on changes in the volatility of the market rather than the direction of the market.

volume of trade

The number of contracts traded during a specified period of time. It may be quoted as the number of contracts traded or as the total of physical units, such as bales or bushels, pounds or dozens.

warrant

A contract that gives an investor the rights to purchase a security at a specific price (usually above the current price) on a future date. It is usually issued with a bond or preferred stock to provide additional incentive to the buyer. Warrants are similar to options contracts, but unlike options, they can stay in effect for a period ranging from a few years to eternity.

warrant or warehouse receipt for metals

Certificate of physical deposit, which gives title to physical metal in an exchange-approved warehouse.

weather derivative

A derivative whose payoff is based on a specified weather event, for example, the average temperature in Chicago in January. Such a derivative can be used to hedge risks related to the demand for heating fuel or electricity.

yield

The return earned on an investment with the annual income and present capital value taken into account.

Suggest a new term or amendment

Registered users of our site are invited to submit suggestions for new terms and amendments to existing terms. If you are a registered user, please login here

Main Menu

  1. Home
  2. About
    1. Our Core Objectives
    2. Meet the team
    3. AIMA Council
    4. Global Network
    5. Sponsoring Members
    6. Global Partners
    7. FAQs
    8. Opportunities at AIMA
  3. Join AIMA
    1. Benefits of Membership
    2. Membership Fees
    3. Application form
  4. Members
    1. AIMA Annual Reports
    2. AIMA Governance
    3. AIMA Logo
      1. Policy note
    4. AIMA Members' List
    5. AIMA Review of the Year
    6. Committees and Working Groups
    7. Weekly News
    8. Update Profile
  5. Investors
    1. AIMA Investor Services
    2. AIMA Members' List
    3. Investor Steering Committee
    4. Update Profile
  6. Regulation
    1. Asset Management Regulation
      1. EU Asset Management Regulation
        1. AIFMD
        2. UCITS
          1. ETFs and Structured UCITS
        3. Venture Capital
        4. MiFID / MiFIR
      2. US Hedge Fund Adviser Regulations
        1. Registration and Reporting
        2. Incentive-Based Compensation
        3. JOBS Act
      3. Asia Pacific Asset Management regulation
      4. Other Jurisdictions’ Asset Management Regulation
      5. Regulation of NBFCs / SIFIS
      6. Supervision
        1. UK regulatory reform
        2. European Supervisory Authorities
        3. US Self-Regulatory Organisations
      7. Remuneration
        1. UK
        2. US
        3. MiFID
        4. AIFMD
      8. Shadow Banking
      9. Volcker Rule
      10. Other
    2. Markets Regulation
      1. Bank/Capital Regulation
        1. Capital Requirements Directive
      2. Derivatives/Clearing
        1. EMIR
        2. MiFID / MiFIR
        3. MAD / MAR
        4. Dodd-Frank Act Title VII
        5. Hong Kong
        6. IOSCO
        7. Singapore
      3. High Frequency Trading
        1. ESMA Guidelines
        2. MiFID / MiFIR
        3. MAD / MAR
        4. Flash Crash
        5. IOSCO
        6. Germany
      4. Insurance Regulation
        1. Solvency II
      5. Market Abuse
        1. MAD / MAR
        2. Indices as Benchmarks
      6. Position Limits
        1. MiFID / MiFIR
        2. CFTC Position Limits
      7. Resolution of Financial Institutions
        1. CPSS-IOSCO
        2. Financial Stability Board
        3. Europe
        4. UK
        5. USA
      8. Short Selling
        1. EU Short Selling Regulation
        2. Hong Kong Short Selling Regulation
        3. US Short Selling Regulation
        4. Short Selling Bans
      9. Securities Settlement
      10. Trading
        1. MiFID / MiFIR
        2. Dodd-Frank Act
    3. Tax Affairs
      1. EU Savings Directive
      2. FAIFs and FINROFs
      3. FATCA
      4. FIN 48 and IAS 12
      5. Financial Transaction Tax
      6. Investment Manager Exemption
      7. UK Offshore Funds Regime
      8. Other
    4. Search
    5. Resources
      1. Noticeboard
        1. Bribery Act
        2. Client Assets Regime
        3. Conflicts of Interest - UK
        4. Dodd-Frank Act - Fund Manager Registration and Reporting
        5. Dodd-Frank Act - Swaps and OTC Derivatives
        6. Dodd-Frank Act - Volcker Rule
        7. EMIR - Regulation on OTC Derivatives, CCPs and Trade Repositories
        8. EU Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers
        9. EU Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers - Level II
        10. EU Short Selling Regulation
        11. FATCA
        12. FTT
        13. FSA Remuneration Code
        14. General
        15. MADII / MAR - Market Abuse Directive
        16. MiFIDII / MiFIR - Markets in Financial Instruments Directive
        17. Other Tax Issues
        18. Securities Law Directive
        19. Shadow Banking
        20. Singapore Asset Management Regime
        21. Solvency II
        22. Swiss Collective Investment Schemes Act
        23. UCITS and ETFs
        24. UK Stewardship Code
        25. US Short Selling Regime
      2. Guidance Notes
      3. Quarterly Regulatory Update
  7. Education
    1. AIMA Journal
    2. AIMA/KPMG reports on state of global hedge fund industry
    3. Roadmap to Hedge Funds
    4. Guides for institutional investment
    5. Industry-standard DDQs
    6. Sound Practices
    7. Industry Guides
    8. CAIA Designation
    9. Services to Start-up Managers
    10. Useful Websites
    11. Glossary
  8. Events
    1. AIMA Events
    2. Industry Events
  9. Media
    1. AIMA in the News
      1. Published articles
      2. Radio interviews
      3. Television interviews
    2. Press Releases & Statements
    3. Media Contacts
    4. Press Materials
 
Sponsoring members of AIMA
  • CME Group
  • Deutsche Bank Global Prime Finance
  • Ernst & Young
  • Fauchier Partners
  • Man Investments
  • SEI
  • Simmons & Simmons