what value should an investor target to hedge against an asset exposure 
investors should focus on the notional or face value to hedge against exposure to an asset for instance say a portfolio manager has 10 million invested in 10 year u s government bonds the manager likely would want to use options and the leverage they provide to cover the entire notional value of the investment in this case 10 million there will be a cost associated with the hedge the cost of the option contracts but it is typically a small fraction of the notional value of the asset 