Over the last five years, the word "hedge" has become something of a dirty word. Think hedge funds - those massive, unregulated accumulations of capital that played a key role in bringing about the Great Recession. The idea of protecting oneself against adverse economic conditions seemed sound, but it quickly mutated into a bewildering flurry of transactions that ended up creating more risk than they were designed to mitigate. What's more, the original concept behind hedge funds became watered down to the point that many today aren't really "hedging" against anything. They're simply a means for investors to park their money with a trusted fund manager who might or might not repay that trust in the form of steady returns - all with minimal regulatory oversight.