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Trading Glossary

Diversification

Risk Management

What it means

Spreading risk across different assets, strategies, or markets so a single bad event cannot seriously hurt the whole account.

Example

Holding long tech stocks, long gold, and a short index hedge means a tech crash hurts one slice but not all three -- the portfolio is more stable than 100% tech.

Mistake beginners make

Beginners think holding 10 tech stocks is "diversified." If they all move together, you have one position in disguise. Real diversification needs assets that move differently.

Related terms

  • Correlation — How much two assets move together, from -1 (opposite) to +1 (identical). 0 means no relati…
  • Hedge — A position opened to offset the risk of another position. If your main trade loses, the he…

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