Alps Advisors, a provider of outsourced and advisory solutions to the investment management industry, has launched the Alps|GNI Long-Short Fund.

GNI Capital, a South Carolina-based long/short equity investment management firm, will serve as sub-adviser for the fund.

The fund is designed to achieve long-term capital appreciation with a particular emphasis on preserving capital during difficult markets.

The fund represents Alps' latest addition to its Financial Investors Trust. In September, the Denver firm announced the adoption of the Activa Value Fund, sub-advised by Wellington Management, to its boutique investment line-up.

"With our special focus on offering important investment strategies with better transparency, daily liquidity, and lower fees, the Alps|GNI Long-Short Fund is a natural extension to our platform," says Corey Dillon, vice president and director of institutional advisory services for Alps Advisors. "Recent experience reminds us that a well-allocated portfolio should include exposure to alternative strategies where market exposure alone is not the primary driver of returns."

Charles L. Norton and Allen R. Gillespie, principals and founders of GNI, will serve as portfolio managers of the fund. As long/short equity managers, the team's investment process begins with the development of a top-down, macro viewpoint and concludes with a fundamentally driven, bottom-up stock selection process.

The fund is being offered in class A for retail investors and class I for the institutional audience. It will be available on most mutual fund platforms and through financial intermediaries.