About QUAAF
QUAAF is a student-directed hedge fund and an educational initiative of the Smith School of Business graduate programs at Queen’s University. We manage a real, pooled portfolio of alternative investments — letting students learn the craft of alternative asset management by actually practising it.
Our Mission
Our purpose is educational first. QUAAF exists to give graduate-level Smith students hands-on experience in alternative investing within a genuine practitioner setting — researching, debating, and executing real investment decisions. Alongside that mission, we manage the fund to preserve the real, inflation-adjusted value of its capital and to seek returns above inflation, taking only the risk that requires. We invest with a long-term horizon, as though the fund will be maintained indefinitely.
Educate
Develop the next generation of alternative-investment professionals through real practice.
Preserve
Protect the real, inflation-adjusted value of the fund’s capital base.
Grow
Seek risk-adjusted returns above inflation across alternative strategies.
How We’re Governed
QUAAF pairs student leadership with experienced oversight, so members run the fund while seasoned mentors safeguard it.
Board of Directors
Provides general oversight, sets policy and constraints, and approves capital deployment to safeguard the fund — while leaving day-to-day investment decisions to the student team.
Advisory Boards
An Alumni Advisory Board mentors members and helps select incoming executives, while an Industry Advisory Board of seasoned professionals offers market insight and guidance on growth.
Student-Run Teams
An Executive Team leads the fund, supported by specialized Investment, Risk, Operations, and Data teams handling research, due diligence, reporting, outreach, and analytics.
Our Investment Philosophy
Alternatives for diversification
We go beyond traditional equities to seek returns with limited downside correlation to broad markets.
Active management adds value
We allocate to managers and strategies positioned to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns.
Disciplined risk, no fund-level leverage
The total fund avoids leverage — even where underlying managers use it — and risk is monitored continuously.
Built to last
We invest with a perpetual horizon, prioritizing the preservation of capital in real terms.
Responsible & Not-for-Profit
Sustainable Investing
A dedicated Sustainable Investing Team integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into our research, evaluation, and due-diligence process.
A Not-for-Profit Mission
QUAAF operates as a not-for-profit professional organization. Every decision serves our educational purpose and the long-term health of the fund — not private gain.
Want to Learn More?
Explore how we invest, meet the team behind the fund, or apply to join QUAAF.