BAML: Best Stock Market Hedges Are Not Most Obvious

What are the best stock market hedges? They might not be what you would think.

With the stock market approaching the upper end of a trading range, with some calling resistance near 2,000 on the S&P 500, the question of how investors might want to hedge comes to mind. While obvious hedges such as purchasing S&P 500 put options or more sophisticated plays in the VIX volatility index come to mind, a global asset allocation piece from Bank of America Merrill Lynch takes a creative approach to hedging, identifying outperforming hedge tactics relative to the obvious choices. "If equities decline, we expect the cost of hedging in the equity...