FFLS vs QALT

FFLSDThe Future Fund Long/Short ETF

QALTASEI DBi Multi-Strategy Alternative ETF

In short

FFLS A hedge-fund playbook in an ETF shell: a concentrated book of roughly 60 long and short US equity positions, actively run with no index to hug. The flexibility is real, and so is the 2.05% price tag.

QALT One ticker, several hedge fund playbooks: SEI stacks sub-advisers running directional, event-driven and arbitrage strategies, and measures itself against 3-month T-bills instead of the S&P 500. It undercuts the typical alternatives fund on fees.

Stated mandate

FFLS The Fund seeks capital appreciation through an actively managed portfolio of long and short equity positions. It generally emphasizes U.S. exchange-listed securities and ADRs, while permitting foreign securities, derivatives, and ETFs.

QALT The fund seeks positive absolute returns across market cycles with reduced correlation to stocks and bonds. It pursues this through multiple underlying funds and sub-advisers using directional or tactical, event-driven, and arbitrage approaches.

Why people hold it

• FFLS It actually shorts. Most active equity ETFs only go long; this one runs both sides, so a negative view can be a position instead of just a name left out.
• Concentrated at roughly 60 positions, so individual stock calls carry real weight rather than washing out across hundreds of names.
• Long/short access inside a 1940 Act ETF: on-exchange trading any market day and daily published holdings, with no lockup or accreditation gate.
• Broad toolkit by design: US-listed stocks and ADRs at the core, with room for foreign securities, derivatives and other ETFs.

• QALT Charges 0.80% a year against a 1.07% median for alternatives funds. Multi-manager hedge fund exposure usually bills more than that.
• Not a one-trick fund. Directional or tactical, event-driven and arbitrage sleeves run side by side through several underlying funds and sub-advisers.
• The yardstick is 3-month T-bills, the cash hurdle hedge funds get judged on. The stated aim is positive absolute return with reduced correlation to stocks and bonds.
• Screens near the top of its alternatives peer group, and comes in under pricier multi-strategy options such as HFGM and HDG at 0.95%.

Worth knowing

• FFLS The fee is 2.05% a year, versus under 0.20% at index-plus peers like DFAU and FELC. That is the annual hurdle the long/short book carries.
• A small, thinly traded fund. Spreads can be wide and order size matters more here than with the mega-cap index crowd.
• Launched in 2023 with no index to measure against, so the track record is short and outcomes ride on manager judgment. Payouts come once or twice a year, not monthly.

• QALT Launched in 2025, so there is no long record showing how this manager lineup behaves through a full market cycle.
• Trading is thin next to big index ETFs, which can mean wider spreads when you get in or out.
• Not the cheapest seat in the aisle: RNMN (0.59%) and CCEF (0.74%) charge less, though each runs a narrower strategy set than a multi-manager book.

Full FFLS profile⁠

Full QALT profile⁠