Managed futures lost 0.68 per cent in August, according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.
The index is down 2.41 per cent year to date.
“Many CTAs were long equity indices and got hurt in August as fears of military intervention in Syria and uncertainty over Fed tapering had a negative impact on prices,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
Six of Barclay’s eight CTA indices lost ground in August. The Diversified Traders Index was down 0.99 per cent, Systematic Traders gave up 0.82 per cent, Currency Traders lost 0.48 per cent, and Financial & Metals Traders were down 0.46 per cent.
“Short positions in precious and commercial metals lost money again in August. Profits from long positions in energy and fixed income shorts were not enough to overcome the losses in other markets,” says Waksman.
On the positive side, the Barclay Agricultural Traders Index gained 1.47 per cent in August, and Discretionary Traders were up 0.23 per cent.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which measures performance of the largest CTAs, lost 1.21 per cent in August. The BTOP50 started the year with four months of gains, but four straight months of losses has put the Index in negative territory for 2013.
Year to date, Agricultural Traders have gained 2.06 per cent, and Currency Traders are up 0.77 per cent.
The Diversified Traders Index has lost 3.37 per cent through August, Systematic Traders are down 2.15 per cent, and Financial & Metals Traders have lost 0.82 per cent.
