LBAY vs QALT

LBAYCLeatherback Long/Short Alternative Yield ETF

QALTASEI DBi Multi-Strategy Alternative ETF

In short

LBAY A hedge-fund playbook in ETF clothing: long the companies returning cash through dividends, buybacks and debt paydowns, short the single names it thinks are broken, net long throughout, 1.20% a year, paid monthly.

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

LBAY The Fund seeks capital appreciation and income through an actively managed long/short equity strategy.

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

• LBAY "Shareholder yield" here means dividends plus buybacks plus debt paydowns, so the long book can hold cash-returners that never clear a plain dividend screen.sec.gov
• The short side is stock-picking, not just hedging: accounting oddities, short-lived fads, weak governance records. Sector and factor ETF shorts are also on the menu.sec.govsec.gov 2
• Longs can reach past common stock into preferreds, BDCs, MLPs, REITs and convertibles, and it can write covered calls on up to 100% of a position.sec.gov
• Runs as a 1940 Act fund with daily trading and monthly distributions, a different shape from the lockups that usually come with this kind of strategy.

• 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

• LBAY At 1.20% the fee sits near the typical alternatives fund, with no cut of the profits on top. Top-ranked peers do run leaner, though: FLSP charges 0.65%.
• Shorting costs money beyond the expense ratio: borrow fees plus any dividends owed on the borrowed shares. A short that keeps climbing has no built-in loss limit.sec.gov
• Small fund, light trading. Spreads can widen, so limit orders and a glance at the day's volume do real work here.

• 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 LBAY profile⁠

Full QALT profile⁠