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-{{a|glossary|}}''Are you sure you’re not looking for our page on '''[[vega]]'''?'' <ref>No offence, [[hedge fund|fellas]]. :-)</ref><br><br>
+{{def|Alpha|/ˈalfə/|n|}}''Are you sure you’re not looking for our page on '''[[vega]]'''?'' <ref>No offence, [[hedge fund|fellas]]. :-)</ref><br>
-[[Alpha]], ''[[α]]'', is one of the {{tag|Greeks}} - the ''first'' of the {{tag|Greeks}} -  a {{tag|buzzword}} beloved of unimaginative derivative salespeople and second-rate {{tag|hedge fund}} managers and hence was much abused in the run up to the great financial crash of 2008. Like many financial buzzwords, it is derived from a technical term in portfolio management theory which does mean something, though through long misuse the original, helpful meaning has mostly fallen out of use.
+[[Alpha]], ''[[α]]'', is one of the {{tag|Greeks}} —the ''first'' of the {{tag|Greeks}} —  an expression beloved of unimaginative derivative [[salespeople]] and second-rate {{tag|hedge fund}} managers and hence was much abused in the run up to the [[global financial crisis]] of 2008. Like many financial buzzwords, it is derived from portfolio management theory and does mean something though, through long misuse, that original meaning has largely fallen out of use. Technically, “[[alpha]]” is a measure of market outperformance. It gauges the variance of a portfolio’s performance over the market average, or “[[beta]]”. An [[investment manager]]’s [[alpha]], therefore, is the value that manager adds that you would miss out on if you just invested in the market average.
-In a technical sense, [[alpha]] is a measure of market outperformance: it gauges the variance of a portfolio’s performance over the market average, or “[[beta]]”. An investment manager’s [[alpha]], therefore, is the value that manager adds that you would miss out on if you just invested in the [[benchmark]].
+But when you’re a [[salesperson]], it’s easier than that. [[Alpha]] is just means “really cool”, which is why it’s so popular in new product acronyms: you know, ''Tactically [[Enhanced]] [[Alpha]] Receipts'', or ''[[TEARs]]'', which you can be assured you’ll eventually be in if you fall for a ruse as poor as that. Also, it’s a vowel, and you need vowels to make good acronyms.
-But when you’re a [[salesperson]], it’s easier than that. [[Alpha]] is just a catch-all {{tag|buzzword}} meaning “really cool”, which is why it’s so popular in new product acronyms: you know, ''Tactically [[Enhanced]] [[Alpha]] Receipts'', or ''[[TEARs]]'', which you can be assured you’ll eventually be in if you fall for a ruse as poor as that. Also, it’s a vowel, and you need vowels to make good acronyms.
 ===The love-hate relationship between [[Alpha]] and [[Vega]]===
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 For one thing, it’s much easier to create [[vega]]: anyone and, indeed, everyone can: you simply introduce [[leverage]]. (Have a [[mortgage]] on your house? congratulations; you’ve generated [[vega]]).
-[[Alpha]], on the other hand, really is special, since [[QED]] only a certain portion of the market can generate it. Because it's an expression of variance from a mean, for every whizz-kid who generates [[positive alpha]], someone’s generating an equivalent amount of [[negative alpha]] (i.e., returns than are ''worse'' than [[beta]]).
+[[Alpha]], on the other hand, really is special, since [[QED]] only a certain portion of the market can generate it. Because it’s an expression of variance from a mean, for every whizz-kid who generates [[positive alpha]], someone’s generating an equivalent amount of [[negative alpha]] (i.e., returns than are ''worse'' than [[beta]]).
 ===Why you should run for the hills when you see a product called [[leveraged alpha]]===
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 {{greeks}}
 {{ref}}
+{{c|Prime Brokerage}}