130/30 is a type of long/short fund strategy.
Long positions
When a fund takes a long position in a security, it purchases the security outright for its portfolio. Funds take long positions in stocks that the portfolio managers believes are attractive.
Short positions
A 130/30 fund can take short positions in stocks that the portfolio manager believes are overvalued or expected to underperform. To take a short position in a security, funds borrow the security and sell it to a buyer at the current market price. To complete or close out the short sale transaction, the fund buys the same security in the market and returns it to the lender.
The fund generally makes money on a short position when the market price of the security goes down after the short sale. In this situation, the fund has sold the security to the buyer at a higher price.
After the price of the security drops, the fund is able to replace the security it borrowed at the new lower price.
Conversely, if the price of the security goes up after the sale, the fund will lose money because it will have to pay more to replace the borrowed security than it received from the buyer.
Picturing 130/30
Because a 130/30 fund will generally use the proceeds from its short positions to purchase additional securities, the fund will normally hold long positions up to 130% of its net assets. The following chart illustrates how a 130/30 strategy works:
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