Managed futures funds were profitable in July as the CTA industry realised a 1.63 per cent monthly gain, according to the Barclay CTA Index, compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions. For the year-to-date CTAs are up 2.49 per cent to the end of July.
“A resurgence of the Covid-19 virus and signs of slowing economic activity were not enough to derail a positive outlook based on vaccine hopes and promises of an accommodative monetary policy,” says Sol Waksman, president of BarclayHedge. “Equity prices rose, interest rates and the US dollar declined while gold prices rocketed to new all-time highs.”
All sectors tracked by the Barclay CTA Indices were in the black for July. Leading the way was the Cryptocurrency Traders Index, which gained 38.16 per cent on the month. Other July gainers included the MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index, up 2.33 per cent, the Diversified Traders Index, returning 2.25 per cent, the Agricultural Traders Index, gaining 1.93 per cent, and the Discretionary Traders Index, up 1.65 per cent.
For the year-to-date, the MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index was the lone sector in the red, down 3.16 per cent through July.
Nine of the ten Barclay CTA Indices are in positive territory year-to-date. Leading gainers included the Cryptocurrency Traders Index, returning 66.74 per cent, the Agricultural Traders Index, up 8.95 per cent, the Currency Traders Index, up 5.85 per cent, the Discretionary Traders Index, gaining 4.15 per cent, and the Systematic Traders Index, up 3.20 per cent.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which tracks the performance of the largest CTAs that are still open for new investment, returned 3.02 per cent in July. For the year-to-date the BTOP50 was up 0.12 per cent through July.
