Private collective investment vehicle which is active in the global capital markets, seeks to achieve absolute returns and capital appreciation. Hedge funds use a variety of investment techniques, are lightly regulated and often accept only a very limited number of investors so as to ensure that their investment strategy remains flexible. Hedge funds are categorized not only according to the asset classes in which they invest (equities, bonds etc.) or their geographic or thematic orientation, but also in terms of their strategies (e.g. arbitrage, macro, event-driven or opportunistic).