HFND vs QAI: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Unlimited HFND Multi-Strategy Return Tracker ETF

HFNDCNYSE

NYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF

QAIANYSE Arca

Overlap

5.6%by weight

Expense ratio

QAI −0.26pt a year

HFND1.07%QAI0.81%

Avg volume · 30D

QAI 6.6×the volume

HFND8.51KQAI56.1K

3Y return · a year

HFND +0.4pt

HFND+9.3%QAI+8.9%

HFND vs QAI Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

+2.6%HFND+6.4%QAI

Expense ratio: HFND 1.07%; QAI 0.81%, better
Fund size: HFND $37M; QAI $999M
1Y total return: HFND +2.6%; QAI +6.4%, better
Yield (12M): HFND 4.87%, better; QAI 1.42%
Holdings: HFND 33; QAI 55
Avg volume (30D): HFND 8.51K sh; QAI 56.1K sh, better
NAV per share: HFND $23.76; QAI $35.49
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for HFND, QAI, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	HFND	QAI
Cost30% weight	B55	A86Higher
Mission25% weight	Not scored	Not scored
Risk15% weight	C49	B68Higher
Tradability15% weight	C42	A81Higher
Holdings10% weight	Not scored	C50
Durability5% weight	C49	A84Higher

Rank among Alternative Strategies funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. HFND and QAI are both graded against the same 29 Alternative Strategies funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Alternative Strategies⁠

Category · 29 funds

See all 29 ›

QAI ranks 2nd and HFND 15th of 29 funds in the Alternative Strategies Category.

Rank 1AFLSPFranklin Systematic Style Premia ETFScore 77
Rank 2AHBDCHilton BDC Corporate Bond ETFScore 76
Rank 2AQAINYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETFScore 76
Rank 4AQALTSEI DBi Multi-Strategy Alternative ETFScore 74
Rank 15CEVNTAltShares Event-Driven ETFScore 50
Rank 15CHFNDUnlimited HFND Multi-Strategy Return Tracker ETFScore 50
Rank 17CHFGMUnlimited HFGM Global Macro ETFScore 47

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

HFNDCUnlimited HFND Multi-Strategy Return Tracker ETF

QAIANYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF

In short

HFND A hedge fund index fund that owns no hedge funds. Machine learning reads the industry's reported returns, then rebuilds that positioning with long and short broad ETFs and futures inside a daily-traded ETF.

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

HFND The Fund seeks capital appreciation. It is actively managed and aims to replicate the return characteristics of the hedge-fund industry, using long and short positions in broad-based ETFs and futures contracts.

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

HFND Reverse-engineers the whole industry rather than backing one star manager: the engine tracks returns across hedge fund indices and expresses them with liquid ETFs and futures.unlimitedfunds.com
Exchange-traded access instead of lockups and subscription windows: it is a 1940 Act ETF holding broad ETFs and futures, long and short, not hedge fund partnerships.sec.gov
Unlimited's original fund (2022) and the broad one in the family: it aims at the full industry mix, while siblings such as HFGM narrow in on a single style, global macro.

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

HFND At 1.07% it prices right at the median for its alternatives peer group, and cheaper replication sits nearby: HDG at 0.95%, QALT at 0.80%.
It is a replica, not the real thing. The prospectus flags heavy reliance on proprietary machine learning models and third-party data, so results can diverge from the funds tracked.sec.gov
Small and lightly traded by ETF standards, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads than the biggest names in the alternatives aisle.

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 HFND profile⁠

Full QAI profile⁠

HFND vs QAI Holdings

How HFND and QAI differ

Overlap by weight

5.6%

Shared holdings make up 7.9% of HFND and 6.2% of QAI.

Level by level

Holdings4 in both5.6%
Sector11 Sectors82.6%
Countryby domicile86.1%
Asset classAlternatives100%

Sector

Sector weights in HFND and QAI, widest gap first
Sector	More in HFNDMore in QAI	HFND	QAI
Technology	HFND +7.8 points	27.2%	19.4%
Communication	QAI +7.3 points	4.3%	11.6%
Energy	QAI +5.0 points	4.5%	9.4%
Materials	HFND +4.1 points	8.5%	4.4%
Consumer Discretionary	HFND +4.1 points	11.2%	7.1%
Financials	QAI +3.4 points	14.2%	17.6%
Real Estate	QAI +1.1 points	1.5%	2.5%
Health Care	HFND +0.9 points	8.1%	7.2%
Utilities	HFND +0.5 points	3.6%	3.1%
Consumer Staples	QAI +0.3 points	3.5%	3.8%
Industrials	QAI +0.2 points	13.6%	13.8%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in HFND and QAI, widest gap first
Country	More in HFNDMore in QAI	HFND	QAI
United States	QAI +5.5 points	68.7%	74.2%
Taiwan	HFND +5.3 points	7.0%	1.7%
China	HFND +3.1 points	4.7%	1.6%
South Korea	HFND +3.1 points	5.5%	2.4%
Canada	QAI +2.1 points	0.1%	2.2%
Australia	QAI +1.2 points	0.5%	1.7%
United Kingdom	QAI +1.1 points	1.2%	2.3%
Brazil	HFND +0.9 points	1.1%	0.2%
Other countries (33)	QAI +2.2 points	11.3%	13.5%

Outside the US: HFND 25% developed, 75% emerging. QAI 62% developed, 38% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

HFND100.7%
QAI69.1%

Securities held

HFND27
QAI43

Asset class

HFND: Alternatives
QAI: Alternatives

Holdings

Only in HFND23
In both4
Only in QAI39

Only in HFND

23 securities, 85.7% of HFND by weight

First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/203137.47%
MSCI EmgMkt Dec2611.36%
Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF4.67%
BCOM Comdty Ind Dec263.52%
Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF3.40%
iShares Agency Bond ETF3.27%
MSCI EAFE Dec263.23%
iShares J.P. Morgan EM High Yield Bond ETF3.11%
State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF2.26%
EURO STOXX 50 Dec262.14%
iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF2.02%
NIKKEI 225 (CME) Dec262.01%
Vanguard US Momentum Factor ETF1.98%
State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF1.91%
State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF1.13%
DOLLAR INDEX Dec260.63%
State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF0.48%
State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF0.47%
State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF0.28%
State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF0.19%
iShares MSCI South Korea ETF0.10%
State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF0.04%
iShares MSCI Brazil ETF0.03%

Only in QAI

39 securities, 94.2% of QAI by weight

iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF17.39%
Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF12.50%
Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF7.88%
Franklin Senior Loan ETF Franklin Liberty Senior Loan Fund7.45%
State Street SPDR Bloomberg Investment Grade Floating Rate ETF4.80%
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China ETF4.70%
iShares Core S&P Small Cap ETF4.68%
iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF3.60%
JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF3.13%
State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF2.60%
Global X U.S. Preferred ETF2.37%
NYLIM Merger Arbitrage ETF2.35%
Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF2.28%
iShares National Muni Bond ETF2.20%
iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF2.13%
State Street SPDR Bloomberg Convertible Securities ETF2.05%
Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund2.01%
Franklin FTSE India ETF1.80%
Invesco DB Agriculture Fund1.63%
iShares MSCI China ETF1.63%
VanEck Alternative Asset Manager ETF1.09%
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF0.94%
Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF0.94%
AltShares Merger Arbitrage ETF0.91%
abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF0.62%
Cash0.22%
Franklin FTSE China ETF0.08%
Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF0.08%
Payb Franklin Ftse Japan0.05%
Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust0.05%
Payb Ishares Phlx Semicon0.04%
Recv Ishares Core S&P Sma0.02%
Recv Vanguard Mid-Cap Etf0.01%
Recv Jpm Equ Prem Inc0.01%
Recv Xlf Long Ml<0.01%
Recv Xlf Long Ms<0.01%
Recv Flin Lms<0.01%
Recv Flin Lml<0.01%
Recv Iq Merger Arb<0.01%

Weight gaps

All 4 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in HFND and QAI, widest gap first
Holding	More in HFNDMore in QAI	HFND	QAI
State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETFXLK	HFND +1.79 points	2.13%	0.34%
Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap ETFVO	HFND +0.44 points	2.51%	2.07%
iShares Convertible Bond ETFICVT	QAI +0.39 points	2.61%	3.00%
State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETFXLF	QAI +0.13 points	0.61%	0.74%

All HFND holdings⁠All 48 QAI holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

HFND vs QAI Cost

Overpaying HFND vs QAI

$4,297

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

HFND 1.07%
$19,815
QAI 0.81%
$15,518

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

HFND 1.07%
QAI 0.81%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	HFND	QAI	Overpaying
10	$1,881	$1,439	$442
20	$7,046	$5,456	$1,590
30	$19,815	$15,518	$4,297

Expense ratio

1.07%HFND
0.81%QAI, cheaper

QAI0.81%HFND1.07%

0.39%10.91%

Middle half of Alternative Strategies funds
Median 1.13%

QAI 5th cheapest of 29 funds

HFND 14th cheapest of 29 funds

HFND vs QAI Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): HFND 4.87%, better; QAI 1.42%
Payout (12M): HFND $1.15; QAI $0.50
Last payment: HFND $1.15; QAI $0.50
Ex-dividend: HFND Dec 24, 2025; QAI Dec 30, 2025
Paid on: HFND Dec 26, 2025; QAI Jan 5, 2026
Frequency: HFND Annual; QAI Annual

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

HFNDAnnual · 4 paymentsAll HFND payments⁠

QAIAnnual · 8 paymentsAll QAI payments⁠

HFND vs QAI Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: HFND 7.5%QAI 5.2%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: HFND 0.63QAI 0.81, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: HFND −13.3%since Oct 2022QAI −14.1%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: HFND 0.51QAI 0.35; Market = 1

HFND and QAI in the news

All news⁠

Category Review
The largest alternatives fund has no one-year record
Updated Sep 28, 2026QAI

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