esÂ·trange. tr.v. esÂ·tranged, esÂ·trangÂ·ing, esÂ·trangÂ·es. 1. To make hostile, unsympathetic, or indifferent; alienate: The months of bickering estranged her from her family. 2.
Hedge fund. A hedge fund is an investment fund that pools capital from accredited individuals or institutional investors and invests in a variety of assets, often with complex portfolio-construction and risk-management techniques.
The term hedge fund originated from the paired long and short positions that the first of these funds used to hedge market risk. Over time, the types and nature of the hedging concepts expanded, as did the different types of investment vehicles.