IndexIQ Announces July 2015 Performance of Its IQ Hedge Family of Investable Benchmark Hedge Fund Replication Indexes

RYE BROOK, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IndexIQ, a pioneer and leading provider of innovative investment solutions, today announced the performance of its proprietary family of hedge fund replication and alternative beta indexes.

Designed as investable benchmarks that replicate the performance characteristics of sophisticated hedge fund strategies, the IQ Hedge™ Indexes comprise the first family of investable benchmark indexes covering hedge fund replication/alternative beta strategies.

For the period ended July 31, 2015, the returns for the indexes were as follows:

Since its founding in 2006, IndexIQ has been a pioneer in the development and application of innovative index-based investment strategies. The IQ Hedge Indexes are increasingly being used as the basis of investment products worldwide, and as benchmarks for advisors to determine how well their actively managed hedge funds and alternative mutual funds are actually performing.

IndexIQ Indexes underlie a variety of investment products globally including ETFs, mutual funds, and institutional accounts. IndexIQ products are designed to be liquid, transparent, low cost,^* and accessible to a broad range of investors, many of which are the first of their kind to be introduced to the market, including:

• IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Plus Fund (IQHIX – Class I Shares; IQHOX – Class A Shares), the first open-end, no-load hedge fund replication mutual fund;
• IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF (NYSE Arca:QAI), the first US-listed hedge fund replication Exchange-Traded Fund;
• IQ Hedge Market Neutral Tracker ETF (NYSE Arca:QMN), providing exposure to the market neutral hedge fund universe;
• IQ Hedge Macro Tracker ETF (NYSE Arca:MCRO), the first Global Macro/Emerging Markets hedge fund replication ETF;
• IQ Hedge Long/Short Tracker ETF (NYSE Arca:QLS), seeking investment results that correspond to the collective hedge funds pursuing a long/short strategy;
• IQ Hedge Event-Driven Tracker ETF (NYSE Arca:QED), seeking investment results that correspond to the collective hedge funds pursuing an event driven strategy;
• IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF (NYSE Arca:MNA), the first merger arbitrage ETF;
• IQ 50 Percent Hedged FTSE International ETF (NYSE Arca:HFXI), the first 50 percent currency hedged international equity ETF;
• IQ 50 Percent Hedged FTSE Europe ETF (NYSE Arca:HFXE), the first 50 percent currency hedged European equity ETF;
• IQ 50 Percent Hedged FTSE Japan ETF (NYSE Arca:HFXJ), the first 50 percent currency hedged Japan equity ETF;
• IQ Real Return ETF (NYSE Arca:CPI), the first US-listed “real return” ETF, which seeks to generate a real return above the rate of inflation as measured by changes in the Consumer Price Index;
• IQ US Real Estate Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca:ROOF), the first US Real Estate Small Cap ETF;
• IQ Global Resources ETF (NYSE Arca:GRES), the first hedged global natural resources ETF;
• IQ Global Agribusiness Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca:CROP), the first agribusiness small cap ETF;
• IQ Global Oil Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca:IOIL), the first global oil small cap ETF;
• IQ Canada Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca:CNDA), the first Canada small cap ETF;
• IQ Australia Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca:KROO), the first Australia small cap ETF.

About IndexIQ

IndexIQ is a pioneer and leading provider of innovative investment solutions focused on absolute return, real assets, and international strategies. IndexIQ’s solutions are offered as ETFs, mutual funds, separately managed accounts, and ETF model portfolios. The company's philosophy is to democratize investment management by providing all investors with cost-effective access to the types of high-quality, sophisticated investment products that typically have been reserved for institutional and ultra high-net-worth investors. Founded upon cutting-edge academic research, IndexIQ’s mission is to take indexing to the next level by combining the best attributes of both passive and active investing, and make strategies available to investors in low cost, liquid, and transparent products*. IndexIQ is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company. Additional information about the IndexIQ and its products can be found at IQetfs.com.

* The nature of IndexIQ's products allows for these potential benefits, which typically are not associated with traditional hedge funds.

Consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus and the statement of additional information include this and other relevant information about the Funds and are available by visiting IQetfs.com or calling 888-934-0777. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

IndexIQ^® is the indirect wholly owned subsidiary of New York Life Investment Management Holdings LLC. ALPS Distributors, Inc. (ALPS) is the principal underwriter of the ETFs. NYLIFE Distributors LLC is a distributor of the ETFs and the principal underwriter of the mutual fund. NYLIFE Distributors LLC is located at 169 Lackawanna Ave, Parsippany, NJ 07054. ALPS Distributors, Inc. is not affiliated with NYLIFE Distributors LLC. NYLIFE Distributors LLC is a Member FINRA/SIPC.

^*IndexIQ’s ETF holdings are available daily on IndexIQ’s website. Brokerage commissions apply to ETFs. ETFs are liquid in that they are exchange-traded.

Index performance does not reflect charges and expenses associated with the Funds or brokerage commissions associated with buying and selling ETF shares. One cannot invest directly in an index.

The IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Plus Fund (IQ Fund), the IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF (IQ Multi-Strategy ETF), the IQ Hedge Market Neutral Tracker ETF (QMN ETF), the IQ Hedge Long/Short Tracker ETF (QLS ETF), the IQ Hedge Event-Driven Tracker ETF (QED ETF), and the IQ Macro Tracker ETF (IQ Macro ETF) are not hedge funds and do not invest in hedge funds. The IQ Hedge-Multi Strategy Plus Fund is a registered open-end mutual fund that invests in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and similar securities in an attempt to replicate the performance characteristics of certain hedge fund investing styles, but with less cost, more liquidity, and greater portfolio transparency than traditional hedge funds. There can be no assurance that the Funds’ investment strategies will be successful. The investment performance of the IQ Multi-Strategy ETF, the QMN ETF, the IQ Macro ETF, the QLS ETF, the QED ETF, and the IQ Real Return ETF (collectively, the IQ ETFs), because they are funds of funds, depends on the investment performance of the underlying ETFs in which they invest. There is no guarantee that the IQ ETFs themselves, or each of the underlying ETFs in the Funds’ portfolios, will perform exactly as its underlying index. The IQ ETFs are non-diversified and susceptible to greater losses if a single portfolio investment declines than would a diversified mutual fund. The IQ ETFs’ underlying ETFs invest in: foreign securities, which subject them to risk of loss not typically associated with domestic markets, such as currency fluctuations and political uncertainty; commodities markets, which subject them to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds; and fixed income securities, which subject them to credit risk; the possibility that the issuer of a security will be unable to make interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt; and interest rate risk; changes in the value of a fixed-income security resulting from changes in interest rates. Leverage, including borrowing, will cause some of the IQ ETF’s underlying ETFs to be more volatile than if the underlying ETFs had not been leveraged.