LALT vs QAI: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Multi-Strategy Alternative ETF

LALTBNYSE Arca

NYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF

QAIANYSE Arca

Overlap

0.0%by weight

Expense ratio

QAI −0.37pt a year

LALT1.18%QAI0.81%

Avg volume · 30D

LALT 2.3×the volume

LALT133KQAI58.2K

3Y return · a year

LALT +1.5pt

LALT+10.2%QAI+8.7%

LALT vs QAI Performance

Nov 7, 2025 – Nov 9, 2026

+10.8%LALT+7.5%QAI

Expense ratio: LALT 1.18%; QAI 0.81%, better
Fund size: LALT $446M; QAI $985M
1Y total return: LALT +10.8%, better; QAI +7.5%
Yield (12M): LALT 4.03%, better; QAI 1.41%
Holdings: LALT 8; QAI 66
Avg volume (30D): LALT 133K sh, better; QAI 58.2K sh
NAV per share: LALT $24.35; QAI $35.29
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for LALT, QAI, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	LALT	QAI
Cost30% weight	C48	A86Higher
Mission25% weight	Not scored	Not scored
Risk15% weight	A82Higher	A71
Tradability15% weight	A70	A81Higher
Holdings10% weight	D27	C45Higher
Durability5% weight	A75	A84Higher

Rank among Alternative Strategies funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. LALT 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 3rd and LALT 9th of 29 funds in the Alternative Strategies Category.

Rank 1AFLSPFranklin Systematic Style Premia ETFScore 78
Rank 1AHBDCHilton BDC Corporate Bond ETFScore 78
Rank 3AQAINYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETFScore 76
Rank 4AQALTSEI DBi Multi-Strategy Alternative ETFScore 75
Rank 8BFARXFrontier Asset Absolute Return ETFScore 61
Rank 9BLALTFirst Trust Multi-Strategy Alternative ETFScore 58
Rank 10BFTLSFirst Trust Long/Short Equity ETFScore 57

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

LALTBFirst Trust Multi-Strategy Alternative ETF

QAIANYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF

In short

LALT Most funds in this corner run one playbook: trend. LALT is the sampler plate, an actively managed mix of alternative strategies from First Trust, built to move differently from stocks and bonds. The variety costs extra.

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

LALT The Fund seeks long-term total return through active allocation among alternative asset categories and strategies intended to provide diversification and lower correlation with traditional equity and fixed-income benchmarks.

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

LALT Actively allocates across several alternative categories instead of riding a single trend model, with a stated aim of lower correlation to equity and fixed-income benchmarks.
Its cohort is stacked with single-lane trend followers (DBMF, CTA, ASMF). The multi-strategy mandate is what sets LALT apart from that shelf.
A First Trust product with hundreds of millions in assets and a quarterly distribution schedule, traded like any ordinary listed fund.

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

LALT At 1.18% a year it runs above the peer median of 0.95%, and above trend rivals CTA (0.75%), ASMF (0.80%) and DBMF (0.85%).
No index to grade it against. Outcomes ride on the manager's allocation calls, and with a 2023 launch the track record is still short.
Built to behave unlike stocks and bonds, which is the point in choppy stretches and the trade-off when traditional markets are running hot.

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 LALT profile⁠

Full QAI profile⁠

LALT vs QAI Holdings

How LALT and QAI differ

Overlap by weight

0.0%

About this figure: LALT holds other funds. We compare those funds, not the stocks inside them.

QAI holds other funds. We compare those funds, not the stocks inside them.

Level by level

Holdings0 in both0.0%
Sector15 Sectors58.3%
Countryby domicile76.0%
Asset classAlternatives100%

Sector

Sector weights in LALT and QAI, widest gap first
Sector	Gap	LALT	QAI
Financials	LALT +23.8 points	37.8%	14.0%
Corporate	QAI +16.8 points	0.0%	16.8%
Securitized	LALT +11.9 points	12.0%	0.1%
Industrials	QAI +7.5 points	1.8%	9.3%
Utilities	QAI +5.2 points	0.0%	5.2%
Municipal	QAI +3.7 points	0.0%	3.7%
Technology	LALT +3.1 points	17.6%	14.5%
Health Care	QAI +2.8 points	8.0%	10.8%
Government	LALT +2.7 points	4.6%	1.9%
Consumer Discretionary	QAI +1.9 points	3.6%	5.5%
Real Estate	QAI +1.8 points	0.0%	1.8%
Communication	QAI +1.2 points	6.1%	7.3%
Materials	QAI +0.8 points	2.4%	3.2%
Energy	LALT +0.2 points	3.1%	2.9%
Consumer Staples	QAI +0.1 points	3.0%	3.1%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in LALT and QAI, widest gap first
Country	Gap	LALT	QAI
United States	LALT +24.0 points	97.8%	73.8%
India	QAI +2.6 points	0.0%	2.6%
United Kingdom	QAI +2.5 points	0.0%	2.5%
South Korea	QAI +2.4 points	0.0%	2.4%
Japan	QAI +2.2 points	0.5%	2.7%
Canada	QAI +1.8 points	0.4%	2.2%
Australia	QAI +1.8 points	0.0%	1.8%
China	QAI +1.7 points	0.0%	1.7%
Other countries (33)	QAI +8.8 points	1.4%	10.2%

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

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

LALT100.0%
QAI68.6%

Securities held

LALT7
QAI51

Asset class

LALT: Alternatives
QAI: Alternatives

Holdings

Only in LALT7
In both0
Only in QAI51

Only in LALT

7 securities, 99.8% of LALT by weight

First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF21.59%
First Trust Managed Futures Strategy Fund21.20%
First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF20.95%
First Trust Low Duration Opportunities ETF10.79%
Franklin Systematic Style Premia ETF9.83%
iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF7.83%
First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund7.67%

Only in QAI

51 securities, 99.96% of QAI by weight

iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF17.43%
Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF12.59%
Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF7.75%
Franklin Senior Loan ETF Franklin Liberty Senior Loan Fund7.42%
State Street SPDR Bloomberg Investment Grade Floating Rate ETF4.81%
iShares Core S&P Small Cap ETF4.61%
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China ETF4.49%
iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF3.51%
JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF3.09%
iShares Convertible Bond ETF2.92%
State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF2.74%
Global X U.S. Preferred ETF2.37%
NYLIM Merger Arbitrage ETF2.36%
Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF2.31%
iShares National Muni Bond ETF2.23%
Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF2.03%
Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund2.03%
State Street SPDR Bloomberg Convertible Securities ETF1.99%
Franklin FTSE India ETF1.93%
iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF1.93%
iShares MSCI China ETF1.73%
Invesco DB Agriculture Fund1.60%
VanEck Alternative Asset Manager ETF1.12%
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF0.93%
AltShares Merger Arbitrage ETF0.92%
Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF0.84%
State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF0.75%
abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF0.65%
State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF0.31%
Cash0.20%
Franklin FTSE China ETF0.09%
Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF0.07%
Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust0.05%
Payb Franklin Ftse Japan0.03%
Payb Ishares Phlx Semicon0.03%
Recv Comm Sss Spdr0.02%
Payb Currencysh Ms Short0.01%
Recv Flin Lms<0.01%
Recv Flin Lml<0.01%
Recv Xle Short Ms<0.01%
Payb Xle Short Ml<0.01%
Payb Xlu Short Ml<0.01%
Payb Xlu Short Ms<0.01%
Recv Recv Sivr Lml<0.01%
Recv Recv Sivr Lms<0.01%
Recv Powershares Db Us Do<0.01%
Payb Pay Bwx Sms<0.01%
Payb Pay Bwx Sml<0.01%
Spdr Bloom Ms Short<0.01%
Recv Xlf Long Ms<0.01%

Weight gaps

LALT and QAI share no securities.

All 7 LALT 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.

LALT vs QAI Cost

Overpaying LALT vs QAI

$6,025

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

LALT 1.18%
$21,543
QAI 0.81%
$15,518

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

LALT 1.18%
QAI 0.81%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	LALT	QAI	Overpaying
10	$2,065	$1,439	$626
20	$7,697	$5,456	$2,241
30	$21,543	$15,518	$6,025

Expense ratio

1.18%LALT
0.81%QAI, cheaper

QAI0.81%LALT1.18%

0.39%10.91%

Middle half of Alternative Strategies funds
Median 1.13%

QAI 5th cheapest of 29 funds

LALT 16th cheapest of 29 funds

LALT vs QAI Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 9, 2026

Yield (12M): LALT 4.03%, better; QAI 1.41%
Payout (12M): LALT $0.98; QAI $0.50
Last payment: LALT $0.08; QAI $0.50
Ex-dividend: LALT Sep 24, 2026; QAI Dec 30, 2025
Paid on: LALT Sep 30, 2026; QAI Jan 5, 2026
Frequency: LALT Quarterly; QAI Annual

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

LALTQuarterly · 10 paymentsAll LALT payments⁠

QAIAnnual · 8 paymentsAll QAI payments⁠

LALT vs QAI Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: LALT 4.8%, betterQAI 5.2%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: LALT 1.23, betterQAI 0.81
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: LALT −7.0%since Feb 2023QAI −14.1%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: LALT 0.15QAI 0.36; Market = 1

LALT and QAI in the news

All news⁠

Category Review
The largest alternatives fund has no one-year record
Updated Sep 28, 2026LALTQAI
New ETFs
Beacon's alternatives ETF opened 35% in the dollar, at a fee above every holding
Sep 9, 2026LALT

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LALT vs QAI

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How LALT and QAI differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in LALT

Only in QAI

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

The largest alternatives fund has no one-year record

Beacon's alternatives ETF opened 35% in the dollar, at a fee above every holding

How LALT and QAI differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in LALT

Only in QAI

Weight gaps