Evaluating Equity Hedge Strategies in Hedge Funds

As an investment analyst at a hedge fund specializing in equity hedge strategies, you are tasked with evaluating different approaches to manage risk while aiming for capital appreciation. Your firm is considering various methods of shorting stocks and taking long positions in undervalued equities. During your analysis, you encounter the following strategies:

1. **Long/Short Equity**: This option involves taking long positions in stocks that are expected to appreciate while shorting stocks that are anticipated to underperform.

2. **Market Neutral**: This approach aims to eliminate market risk by balancing long and short positions, with the goal of generating returns irrespective of market direction.

3. **Sector Focused**: This strategy entails focusing investments on specific sectors, taking long positions in strong sectors while shorting weaker ones within the same sector.

Given the above information, which strategy is primarily designed to protect against market risk while allowing for profit generation from both long and short investments?