MKTN vs QAI

MKTNCFederated Hermes MDT Market Neutral ETF

QAIANYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF

In short

MKTN A real long/short stock book in an ETF: Federated Hermes' MDT quants buy one basket of US stocks and short another, aiming for gains that lean less on market direction. Costs 1.94% net of a waiver through March 1, 2027.

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

MKTN The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation while limiting exposure to general stock-market risk through a quantitative, market-neutral strategy that selects long and short publicly traded common stocks.

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

• MKTN An actual equity long/short book in an ETF wrapper: the MDT quant team buys one set of US stocks and sells another short, by prospectus mandate.yahoo.com
• The stated goal is capital appreciation while limiting exposure to general stock-market risk, spread over a couple hundred long and short US names.
• Longs paired against shorts are built to mute broad market swings, and its measured risk so far has been mild for an equity strategy.
• A waiver trims the cost from 2.27% gross to 1.94% net through March 1, 2027.

• 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

• MKTN Shorting is costly to run: 1.94% net of that waiver sits above the alternatives category's typical fee, where FLSP charges 0.65% and IALT 0.99%.
• Launched in 2025, so there is roughly a year of live data, not a full cycle.
• Shares trade lightly, which can mean wider spreads than a big index fund, and distributions land only once or twice a year.

• 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 MKTN profile⁠

Full QAI profile⁠