The Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge gained 7.71% in 2014. The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which measures performance of the largest CTAs, was up 12.31% in 2014.
“The BTOP50 had a strong finish, ending the year with five consecutive profitable months and putting in its best performance since the financial meltdown in 2008 when it gained 13.58 percent,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge. “Large trend-followers led the way with a gain of 19.59 percent in 2014.”
All eight of Barclay’s CTA indices registered gains in 2014. The Diversified Traders Index was up 10.79%, Systematic Traders gained 10.26%, Currency Traders were up 3.60%, and Agricultural Traders gained 3.13%.
In December, the Diversified Traders Index was up 1.47%, Systematic Traders gained 1.22%, and Currency Traders were up 1.05%.
“Commodity markets remained under pressure with the price of crude oil dropping 21 percent in December,” says Waksman. “Continuing uptrends in bonds and the USD also generated profits for many trend-following portfolios.”
