The flash estimate for the Barclay CTA Index, compiled by BarclayHedge, indicates a 0.71 per cent gain in August. Year to date, the Index has lost 1.43 per cent.
“Downtrends in agricultural markets, precious metals, and emerging market currencies provided a helpful tailwind for the 70 per cent of futures funds that reported a profit in August,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
Five of Barclay’s managed futures indices had gains in August, while four had losses:
The MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index enjoyed a 2.81 per cent gain in August. Diversified Traders were up 1.21 per cent, the Systematic Traders Index gained 1.10 per cent, and Currency Traders added 0.35 per cent.
The Cryptocurrency Traders Index dropped 11.77 per cent in August, Discretionary Traders were down 0.43 per cent, Agricultural Traders gave up 0.19 per cent and Financial/Metals slipped 0.04 per cent.
The BTOP50 Index, which is composed of the largest CTAs open to new investment, gained 1.67 per cent in August, and is down 2.64 per cent for the year.
Through August, six of Barclay’s Managed Futures indices have losses and three have gains:
The Cryptocurrency Traders Index is down 49.18 per cent for the year, with significant losses in six of the eight months. Financial and Metals Traders have lost 3.08 per cent, Diversified Traders are down 2.45 per cent, and the Systematic Traders Index has given up 2.06 per cent.
On the positive side, Currency Traders have gained 3.86 per cent in 2018, Discretionary Traders are up 1.88 per cent, and Agricultural Traders have a 1.24 per cent return.
