IndexIQ Tops $1 Billion in Assets as Leader in Liquid Alternative Exchange-Traded Funds

IndexIQ, whose innovative liquid alternative investment products helped launch an entirely new asset class, has surpassed the $1 billion threshold, it was announced today.

“In a few short years, liquid alternatives have gone from a novelty to playing an important role in a diversified investment portfolio and we’ve seen strong interest in our offerings from the institutional and retail advisor channels,” said Adam Patti, IndexIQ’s chief executive officer. “We’re very proud of our focus on the liquid alternatives space from the beginning, and our growth reflects our investors’ views regarding the quality of our products, the strength of our funds’ track record, and the increased acceptance of these products as an important asset class.”

Numerous third parties have recognized IndexIQ’s contributions to the industry in democratizing the investment landscape, and the firm has received many awards since launching its first fund, including:

• “Most Innovative ETF” in 2012, 9th Annual Global ETF Awards
• “Most Innovative North American ETF Provider” for 2012 from ETF Express
• “Best Alternative ETF Manager” for 2011 from ETF Express
• “Most Innovative ETF” and “Most Innovative Index” for 2010 from Capital Link

The IndexIQ family of investment products includes ETFs, mutual funds, separately managed accounts, and model portfolios. The firm’s industry “firsts” include:

Absolute Return ETFs and Mutual Fund

• IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF (NYSE Arca: QAI), the first hedge fund style ETF and the industry’s largest liquid alternative exchange-traded fund, with assets over $400 million;
• IQ Hedge Macro Tracker ETF (NYSE Arca: MCRO), the first Global Macro/Emerging Markets hedge fund replication ETF;
• IQ Hedge Market Neutral Tracker (NYSE Arca: QMN), the first ETF designed to provide exposure to Market Neutral hedge fund performance characteristics;
• IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF (NYSE Arca: MNA), the first merger arbitrage 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 and to provide an inflation hedging alternative to TIPS;
• IQ Alpha Hedge Strategy Fund (IQHIX – Institutional Share Class; IQHOX – Investor Share Class), the first open-end, no-load hedge fund replication mutual fund;

Commodities & Real Asset ETFs

• IQ Global Resources ETF (NYSE Arca: GRES), the first hedged global natural resources ETF and the broadest commodities equity ETF on the market;
• 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 US Real Estate Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca: ROOF), the first US Real Estate Small Cap ETF;
• IQ Canada Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca: CNDA), the first Canada small cap ETF; and
• IQ Australia Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca: KROO), the first Australia small cap ETF.

“Our goal since we began our research efforts in 2006 and launched our first mutual fund in 2008 and first ETF in 2009 has been to bring institutional-quality next generation alternative investment solutions to the broader investment marketplace,” said Patti. “We focused on that goal during one of the most turbulent periods in market history. Throughout that time, our solutions performed as designed giving us not only the solid track record, but also the scale needed to continue to expand the adoption of these products in investor portfolios.”

As a pioneer in the liquid alternatives marketplace, IndexIQ has worked to provide educational resources to investors and their advisors, focusing on both the theoretical underpinnings of these investment products and their role in a diversified portfolio. “Because we were doing something new, education had to play a leading role in our outreach efforts,” Patti said. “Since we strongly believe that you should never stop learning, we’re also very grateful for all of the assistance and insights that our Academic Board has brought to bear for our team and our product line over the last few years as well.”

IQ Hedge Indexes currently are used as the basis for investment products worldwide, and as benchmarks for advisors to determine how well actively managed hedge funds and alternative mutual funds are performing. The indexes underlie a variety of investment products in addition to ETFs, including mutual funds, separately managed accounts, model portfolios, and institutional accounts.

About IndexIQ

IndexIQ is a leading issuer of index-based liquid alternative solutions focused on absolute return, real asset and international strategies. IndexIQ solutions are offered as ETFs, Mutual Funds, Separate Accounts and Model Portfolios. IndexIQ’s philosophy is to democratize investment management by making innovative alternative investment strategies available to investors in low cost, liquid and transparent products.* IndexIQ strategies are marketed through the company’s proprietary investment products and select partnerships with leading global financial institutions. Additional information about the company and its products can be found at www.IndexIQ.com.

*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.

The IQ Alpha Hedge Strategy Fund (IQ Fund), the IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF (IQ Multi-Strategy ETF), and the IQ Macro Tracker ETF (IQ Macro ETF) are not hedge funds and do not invest in hedge funds. The IQ Alpha Hedge Strategy 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 IQ Macro 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.

Investors are reminded that all investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. A prospectus with this and other information about the Funds may be obtained by visiting www.indexiq.com or by calling (888) 934-0777. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

IndexIQ ETFs and mutual funds are distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc. (ALPS), which is not affiliated with IndexIQ. Adam Patti is a registered representative of ALPS.

IDX001224.050714