Book excerpt: Portfolio insurance has become a craze among institutional investors: over the past ten years, the value of assets managed under this strategy has grown from zero to more than -50 billion. This guide offers complete coverage and practical advice on every aspect of the subject. It clearly defines the characteristics of portfolio insurance, providing background on its history and the theory of hedging, going on to describe how to implement a hedging strategy, how to fit portfolio insurance into long-term financial planning, using index and financial futures and options in hedging, and techniques for measuring performance. Also included is a discussion of how portfolio insurance operates in the international arena.