Thesis Fund Management, a New York-based registered investment adviser, has launched The Flexible Fund which combines hedge fund and mutual fund characteristics.

The fund is available on the majority of mutual fund platforms including Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

The fund combines the multi-strategy investment approach typically found in hedge funds with the daily pricing, daily liquidity and transparency of a mutual fund.

It is managed by the team at Thesis Fund Management which was founded specifically to bring alternative strategies to mutual funds and the investing public.

Stephen Roseman, chief executive officer of Thesis Fund Management, says: "As a hedge fund manager I always thought hedge funds would appeal to a large number of investors. Now with The Flexible Fund we can offer every investor the same type of strategies that hedge funds use, in a regulated and familiar mutual fund format."

Traditional mutual funds tend to focus on one asset class and one investment style. The Flexible Fund will invest across a number of different asset classes, regions and strategies.

"We have a lot more tools at our disposal than almost any other mutual fund," adds Roseman. "We can buy stocks that we believe will go up or sell them short if we think they are going down. We can invest in bonds, commodities and derivatives and, if we believe the situation warrants it, we have the ability to hold cash. For an investment manager the flexibility is extremely beneficial."