Discuss opportunistic hedge fund strategies: their investment features, how they are put into practice and the role they play in a portfolio

Opportunistic funds take top-down positions across asset classes rather than picking securities. Global macro managers form discretionary views on economies, interest rates, currencies and policy and express them with futures, forwards and options; results depend on skill and timing, returns are lumpy, and the strategy has tended to hold up in market stress. Managed futures funds, run by commodity trading advisers, are mostly systematic trend followers using time-series momentum across liquid futures; returns tend to be positively skewed and to be strongest in prolonged sell-offs as trends persist, while choppy, trendless markets hurt. Both diversify equity-heavy portfolios. The trap is expecting trend followers to protect against a sudden shock that reverses before a trend forms.