In 1949 Australian Alfred Jones was credited with the term "hedge fund". Historically it derives its name from the use of hedging to manage risk while achieving superior returns. Today, a hedge fund is an un-regulated investment vehicle designated for sophisticated, also known as the "Accredited Investor".
Mutual funds gained popularity in the 1980's. Prior to this time, the problem of the small investor was in obtaining sufficient knowledge to make informed investment decisions, and so the average person avoided stock market investing. Instead money was held in traditional savings accounts or placed with a bank in
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