The IQ ALPHA Hedge Strategy Fund - the first no-load, open-end mutual fund to bring hedge fund-style investing to retail investors - has been added

The IQ ALPHA Hedge Strategy Fund - the first no-load, open-end mutual fund to bring hedge fund-style investing to retail investors - has been added to the Fidelity Investments mutual fund platform.

The no-transaction fee Investor Class Fund is available through Fidelity Investments with a minimum required investment for first-time shareholders of USD2,500. The Institutional Class Fund is available with a minimum aggregated investment of USD250,000.

"The extraordinary market volatility investors have experienced serves to highlight the positive role alternative asset classes can play in providing portfolio diversification," says Adam Patti, chief executive officer at IndexIQ. "Our goal is to make these strategies available to Registered Investment Advisors and retail investors through products that are transparent and cost-efficient. The addition of the IQ ALPHA Hedge Strategy Fund to the Fidelity Investments platform is a significant step forward in reaching this broader market."

IndexIQ also recently launched the first-ever US-listed hedge fund replication exchange-traded fund (ETF) - The IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF (NYSE Arca: QAI) - which seeks broad hedge fund returns with low volatility and low correlation to equity markets, providing a liquid, transparent, low cost, hedge fund alternative.

The ETF, one of many Alternative Investment ETFs IndexIQ plans to launch, seeks to replicate, before fees and expenses, the returns of the IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Index. The Index is designed to capture the risk-adjusted return characteristics of the collective hedge fund universe using multiple hedge fund investment styles, including long/short equity, global macro, market neutral, event-driven, fixed income arbitrage, and emerging markets.