Managed futures funds posted a second straight losing month in October, down 0.30 per cent for the month, according to the Barclay CTA Index, compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions. For the year-to-date, CTAs were up 1.53 per cent through October.“A surging wave of new coronavirus infections took its toll on equity markets in October,” says Sol Waksman, president of BarclayHedge. “Although China’s economic rebound contributed to gains in some commodity markets, it was not enough to overcome CTA losses resulting from a downturn in the value of equities and the US dollar.”
Most CTA sectors gave up ground in October, though three posted monthly gains. The Cryptocurrency Traders Index returned 9.37 per cent, the Agricultural Traders Index was up 0.38 per cent and the Discretionary Traders Index gained 0.13 per cent.
Sectors posting losses for the month included the Systematic Traders Index, down 0.55 per cent, the Financial & Metal Traders Index, off 0.45 per cent, the MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index, losing 0.34 per cent, the Diversified Traders Index, retreating 0.33 per cent, and the Currency Traders Index, giving up 0.18 per cent.
Nearly all sectors were up for the year-to-date through October, led by the Cryptocurrency Traders Index which gained 80.65 per cent. The Agricultural Traders Index was up 10.58 per cent year-to-date, the Currency Traders Index gained 4.60 per cent, the Discretionary Traders Index returned 4.53 per cent, the Diversified Traders Index gained 1.32 per cent, the Systematic Traders Index was up 1.31 per cent and the Financial & Metal Traders Index posted a 0.85 per cent return.
The MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index remained the lone sector in the red for the year-to-date, losing 5.22 per cent.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which tracks the performance of the largest CTAs that are still open for new investment, was down 0.40 per cent in October. Year-to-date the BTOP50 has dropped 1.78 per cent.
