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widow maker
What does widow maker mean?
A widow maker is an investment or strategy so persistently unprofitable or risky that it repeatedly ruins those who attempt it. The classic example is shorting Japanese government bonds.
"Shorting JGBs was the widow maker trade; everyone who tried it for years got crushed."
Origin
Borrowed from other high-danger contexts (e.g. widow-maker trees/waves); applied to trades that 'make widows' of those who take them.
Frequently asked questions
What is a widow maker trade?
It's an investment or strategy so persistently unprofitable or risky that it repeatedly ruins those who attempt it.
What's the classic widow maker example?
Shorting Japanese government bonds (JGBs) — a trade that crushed investors for years as the bonds stubbornly failed to fall as expected.
Where does the term come from?
It's borrowed from other dangerous contexts, like widow-maker trees or waves, applied to trades that 'make widows' of those who take them.
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