EDGH vs QAI

EDGHB3EDGE Dynamic Hard Assets ETF

QAIANYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF

In short

EDGH Hard assets, rented rather than owned: at least 80% of net assets goes into hard-asset exposure bought through other ETFs and derivatives, with an active manager free to dial that mix up or down as conditions shift.

QAI The original hedge fund replication ETF, listed in 2009: a fund of roughly 50 exchange-traded products tracking an index built to mimic hedge fund styles, for 0.81% net of a fee waiver (1.03% gross).

Stated mandate

EDGH The Fund aims to grow capital when markets rise and reduce losses when markets fall.

QAI The Fund seeks to track the performance of the IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Index before fees and expenses. It uses passive indexing and invests primarily in exchange-traded products and related financial instruments representing the index.

Why people hold it

• EDGH Two-sided mandate: it seeks capital appreciation in rising markets while aiming to limit losses in declines, so the manager can trim hard-asset exposure instead of riding it down.sec.gov
• Exposure arrives through ETFs and derivatives, not vaults or barrels, inside a standard 1940 Act fund rather than a commodity partnership.sec.gov
• All-in cost is 1.01%: a 0.70% management fee plus the underlying funds it owns. That lands under the median fee for its alternatives peer group.sec.gov
• For a young fund in a niche corner, shares change hands regularly, which helps keep the cost of getting in and out contained.

• QAI Billed as the first US-listed hedge fund replication ETF when it launched in March 2009, so it carries a record across multiple market cycles rather than a backtest.asiaasset.com
• Costs 0.81% net of a fee waiver (1.03% gross), below the alternatives category median and under IALT's 0.99%.
• Plain plumbing for an exotic idea: it holds exchange-traded products and related instruments to passively track the IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Index, and trades on an exchange all day.
• Stands near the front of the roughly 30 alternatives funds in its peer group on our review.

Worth knowing

• EDGH It launched in October 2024, so the record is short, and hard assets can sit out of favor for long stretches.
• Actively managed with no index to check it against: what you own depends on the manager's calls about when hard assets deserve more room.sec.gov
• Part of the 1.01% is the fees of the ETFs it buys, stacked on the 0.70% management fee. Cheaper cohort options exist (RNMN 0.59%, QALT 0.80%) with different strategies.sec.gov

• QAI Fund-of-funds design means your exposure runs through other ETFs and the index's mapping of them to hedge fund styles, with gross expenses of 1.03% against the 0.81% net line.
• Cheaper shelves sit nearby: FLSP at 0.65% and HBDC at 0.39%, though neither runs the same multi-strategy replication mandate.
• Moderately traded rather than a category volume leader, and payouts arrive annually or semiannually, so this is not an income-cadence vehicle.

Full EDGH profile⁠

Full QAI profile⁠