After the longest recovery in modern market history, and no longer able to simply rise with the tide, investors will seek strategies that offer attractive returns independent of traditional market indices.

Alpha Strategies typically have a low correlation to traditional markets and can provide excellent diversification to an otherwise traditional portfolio. Alpha Strategies can also have low correlations to each other, and when carefully selected, a portfolio of Alpha Strategies can produce consistent returns with relatively low volatility.

Systematic Option Strategies

Systematic option strategies are based on rules, not on discretionary market views. The strategies profit by harvesting factors found in the options market, i.e. time premium and skew, through bull, bear, and sideways equity markets.

The creativity is in researching, developing, and implementing a "recipe", tailored to meet specific objectives across all market environments, and then consistently implementing the strategy. Each strategy features a defined payoff. On each roll, the future gain/loss profile is known subject only to the underlying market's move - there are no surprises.

The following illustrates what an equity based Systematic Option Strategy can do over twenty years of up and down markets.

Long / Short Strategies

Also known as absolute return strategies, market neutral strategies, and hedge funds, typically they strive to extract profits whether their markets are going up or going down. They may be specific to one asset class, or may include numerous classes; e.g., equities, fixed income, currency, commodities, credit, volatility. etc. Because Long / Short Strategies depend totally on the skill and effort of their managers, due diligence is paramount, both initially and ongoing.

An Overview of Long / Short Strategy Selection

Underweight / Overweight Long-Only Strategies

Traditional long-only investment strategies can also seek alpha by overweighting and underweighting individual components relative to their index.