Alternative investment in the context of "Hedge fund"

A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that holds liquid assets and that makes use of complex trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and insulate returns from market risk. Among these portfolio techniques are short selling and the use of leverage and derivative instruments. In the United States, financial regulations require that hedge funds be marketed only to institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.

Hedge funds are considered alternative investments. Their ability to use leverage and more complex investment techniques distinguishes them from regulated investment funds available to the retail market, commonly known as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). They are also considered distinct from private equity funds and other similar closed-end funds as hedge funds generally invest in relatively liquid assets and are usually open-ended. This means they typically allow investors to invest and withdraw capital periodically based on the fund's net asset value, whereas private-equity funds generally invest in illiquid assets and return capital only after a number of years. Other than a fund's regulatory status, there are no formal or fixed definitions of fund types, and so there are different views of what can constitute a "hedge fund".

Brookfield Properties is a North American subsidiary of commercial real estate firm Brookfield Property Partners, which itself is a subsidiary of alternative asset management company Brookfield Corporation. It is responsible for the asset management of the company's real estate portfolio, including office, multi-family residential, retail, hospitality, and logistics buildings. Brookfield Properties acquired General Growth Properties, one of the largest mall operators in the U.S., and merged it into Brookfield Properties in 2018. As of 2024, Brookfield Properties operates corporate offices in nine countries around the world, including China, India, Germany and the US.

Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman Brothers. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate business has actively acquired commercial real estate across the globe. Blackstone is also active in credit, infrastructure, hedge funds, secondaries, growth equity, and insurance solutions. As of September 30, 2025, Blackstone has $1.2 trillion in total assets under management, making it the world's largest alternative investment firm.

Aurelius is a global investor with offices in Amsterdam, Chicago, London, Luxembourg, Malta, Milan, Munich, New York, and Stockholm. The company focuses on alternative investment, private equity, private debt and real estate investments.

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program is a postgraduate professional certification offered internationally by the US-based CFA Institute (formerly the Association for Investment Management and Research, or AIMR) to investment and financial professionals. The program teaches a wide range of subjects relating to advanced investment analysis—including business analysis, statistics, probability theory, fixed income, derivatives, economics, financial analysis, corporate finance, alternative investments, portfolio management, ethics applicable to the finance industry—and provides a generalist knowledge of other areas of finance.

A candidate who successfully completes the program and meets other professional requirements is awarded the "CFA charter" and becomes a "CFA charter-holder". As of December 2024, at least 200,000 people are charter-holders globally, growing 5.5% annually since 2012 (including the effects of the pandemic). Successful candidates take an average of four years to earn their CFA charter.