The financial crisis has made it increasingly clear that a well-allocated portfolio should include exposure to alternative strategies, including open-end funds, closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds, said Harvey Hirsch, senior vice president of marketing at Van Eck. The fund can also employ arbitrage and directional long/short strategies.
This fund may give investors access to sophisticated asset management strategies in a single portfolio, providing diversification, hedging potential and, in some cases, it may capitalize on market dislocations as they develop globally, Hirsch said.