Data as of Sep 19, 2026.
IVV vs QAI: how they differ
Over the year IVV returned more, +16.6% to QAI's +9.1%, and IVV charges 0.03% to QAI's 0.81%.
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF and NYLIM Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF.
| IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | QAI NYLIM Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core fund | Alternatives ETF |
| Issuer | iShares | New York Life Investments |
| What it is | Tracks the S&P 500 | Multi-strategy |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.6% | +9.1% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +16.6% | +16.6% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | 0.0 pts | −7.5 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.81% |
| Holdings | 508 | not filed |
| Net assets | $846.6bn | $968m |
IVV in plain words
IVV tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026 it returned +16.6% with distributions reinvested, against +16.6% for the S&P 500 and +21.8% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Sep 18, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 508 positions, with the top ten at 38.5%.
QAI in plain words
QAI is a multi-strategy fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.85 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.42, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.42% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 22 of those 52 weeks, by 1.24% on average. In the same weeks QAI fell 0.42% on average, a down-week capture of 34.0%. Over the same 52 weeks QAI returned +9.0% and a Treasury bill fund +3.6%, so it finished 5.4 percentage points ahead of cash.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IVV or QAI?
- In the year to Sep 19, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IVV returned +16.6% and QAI returned +9.1%, so IVV returned more.
- Which is cheaper, IVV or QAI?
- IVV charges 0.03% a year and QAI charges 0.81%, so IVV is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- Are IVV and QAI the same kind of fund?
- No. IVV is an index ETF and QAI is an alternatives ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.
Other comparisons
Where to next
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, IVV against QAI, data as of Sep 19, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ivv-vs-qai Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources