Anticipatory Hedge

A hedge position taken in anticipation of a future buy or sell transaction. An anticipatory hedge is used when an investor intends on entering the market and wants to reduce his or her risk by taking a long or short position in the target security. This type of hedge typically involves taking a long position, but can also involve short positions.

Anticipatory hedges are not only used by investors. They are also a tool that can be used by businesses, such as farmers. For example, a farmer exports wheat from the United States to England. He will be paid in dollars once the goods reach the final destination, but the shipping time may take several weeks. The farmer is worried that the dollar will lose value over that time period when compared to the pound, so he takes a short position on the dollar so that he can hedge the anticipated decline. This is an anticipatory hedge because the farmer is taking a hedging strategy on a good, in this case the dollar, that he does not have yet.