EHLS vs QAI

EHLSDEven Herd Long Short ETF

QAIANYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF

In short

EHLS A boutique long/short equity ETF that actually runs a short book: momentum names on the long side, downtrending ones on the short side, and a net equity dial set anywhere from 10% to 90%.

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

EHLS The Fund is actively managed and seeks returns by simultaneously shorting a daily 2x long MSTR ETF and a daily 2x short MSTR ETF, aiming to benefit from their performance decay while keeping net MSTR exposure approximately neutral.

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

• EHLS Both sides are stock-picked: longs in names with upward momentum, shorts in downtrending companies above $250 million in market cap, with swaps available in place of direct shorts.evenherd.com
• The hedge is not fixed. The manager targets 10% to 90% net equity exposure and can move outside that band when it judges the market calls for it.evenherd.com
• Hedge-fund-style mechanics in a 1940 Act ETF: Nasdaq-listed, daily tradable, and the short positions are itemized in shareholder reports.sec.gov

• 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

• EHLS Cost is the headline trade-off: 3.35% all-in, above the alternatives category norm and well above systematic peers like FLSP (0.65%) and QALT (0.80%).
• Much of that total is not a management fee. It is the dividend and interest cost of carrying shorts, which moves with the size and makeup of the short book.sec.gov
• Thinly traded with a modest asset base, so spreads can matter more here than at a mega-fund. It also has not been paying distributions; any return shows up as price.

• 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 EHLS profile⁠

Full QAI profile⁠