Jones combined two speculative tools to create what he considered a conservative investment scheme. He used leverage to buy more shares, and used short selling to avoid market risk. He bought as many stocks as he sold, so market-wide moves up or down would be neutralized in the portfolio. The value of the portfolio, then, would not be based on direction of the market but whether the manager had picked the right stocks to buy and sell. The fund avoided requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940 by limiting itself to 99 investors in a limited partnership. Jones chose to take 20 percent of profits as compensation, invoking the Phoenician sea captains who kept a fifth of the profits from successful voyages. He charged no fee unless he made a profit. These elements: a partnership structure where a percentage of profits is paid as compensation to the general partner/fund manager, a small number of limited partners as investors, and a variety of long and short positions, are the core elements of hedge funds today.