AdvisorShares, a US sponsor of actively managed ETFs, has announced the launch of the AdvisorShares QAM Equity Hedge ETF (QEH).

Noah Hamman, CEO of AdvisorShares.

Sub-advised by Commerce Asset Management (CAM), a US-based investment adviser, QEH employs an actively managed long/short hedge strategy that seeks to exceed the risk-adjusted performance of approximately 50% of the long/short equity hedge fund universe as defined by the constituents of the HFRI Equity Hedge (Total) Index.

As part of this objective, the fund aims to provide investors with better risk-adjusted returns versus the S&P 500 Index over time by investing in a portfolio of ETFs which echo the style and underlying allocations of the HFRI Equity Hedge (Total) Index. Essentially, QEH offers a form of hedge fund exposure without the requisite time and expertise needed to select individual hedge funds.

As of launch date, the fund has approximately 50% invested in US Treasury bills, via the iShares Barclays Short Treasury Bond ETF (SHV) and the SPDR Barclays Capital 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL), and cash, with the remainder of the fund invested in US and international stocks.

Combined with its exposure to the HFRI Equity Hedge (Total) Index, CAM utilises its own proprietary research with Markov Processes International’s Dynamic Style Analysis hedge fund analysis software and experience and knowledge of the hedge fund investment community for its portfolio management of QEH.

Noah Hamman, CEO of AdvisorShares, said, “We’re excited about our partnership with CAM and bringing QEH to market, providing an alternative strategy and expected return stream that was previously beyond the reach of an average investor but now available with the transparency and liquidity of an actively managed ETF.

“Experienced hedge fund managers, represented in this index that QEH seeks to outperform, are difficult to get access to and a challenge to deal with regarding liquidity, transparency and tax treatment.  In utilising CAM’s extensive network and knowledge within the hedge fund universe, we feel QEH offers a core alternative solution that investors could use to further diversify their portfolio, which a 20-30% allocation to core alternatives can help bring true diversification to investors’ asset allocation.”

“With the launch of QEH, we feel we’re providing advisers and their clients added value with everyday transparency and liquidity of an alternative strategy aimed to deliver a higher risk-adjusted return than its notable benchmark over the long term,” said Kurt Voldeng, Chief Operating Officer of CAM and Co-Portfolio Manager of QEH. “We believe with our benchmark’s underlying constituents measuring approximately 1,000 hedge fund managers, places QEH at an advantage over our competition to generate alpha.”

“Through our own advanced proprietary research combined with Markov Processes International’s technology, we believe the actively managed methodology employed in QEH may yield better risk adjusted returns than traditional long-only strategies for investors over time,” said Akos Beleznay, PhD, Chief Investment Officer of CAM and Co-Portfolio Manager of QEH.  “We look forward to working with AdvisorShares in allowing shareholders to allocate their investment capital without the burden of a high minimum threshold historically associated with similar alternative strategies.”

QEH is listed on the NYSE Arca and has a net expense ratio of 1.64%.