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Barclay CTA Index Down 0.78% in October; Global Equity Rally Challenges Trend Followers

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, November 19, 2015 — Managed futures traders lost 0.78% in October according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The Index is down 1.52% year to date.

“A powerful rally in global equities coming on the heels of two consecutive down months found many trend-following CTAs on the wrong side of the market in October,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

Six of Barclay’s eight CTA indices lost ground in October. The Diversified Traders Index was down 1.50%, Systematic Traders lost 1.17%, Agricultural Traders were down 0.55%, and Financial/Metals Traders gave up 0.41%.

“A decline in the US 10-year Treasury increased losses for traders who, based on weaker economic data in September, had taken long positions in these bonds.”

On the positive side, Currency Traders gained 0.48% in October, while the Discretionary Traders Index was up 0.06%.

“Discretionary managers playing for more quantitative easing in Europe and Japan were rewarded as long equity positions in those regions were profitable,” says Waksman.

Year to date, Currency Traders have gained 3.37%, and Financial/Metals Traders are up 1.63%.

The Diversified Traders Index has lost 4.35% in 2015, Systematic Traders are down 2.72%, Agricultural Traders have lost 0.76%, and Discretionary Traders are down 0.32%.

The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which measures performance of the largest CTAs, lost 1.29% in October. The BTOP50 is currently down 2.26% for the year.

Click here to view 35 years of Barclay CTA Index data.

Sol Waksman is an experienced media source, providing perspectives on hedge fund and managed futures trends. For more commentary or background, call 641-472-3456 or email swaksman@barclayhedge.com.

BarclayHedge is the global leader in providing independent, research-based information services to the alternative investment industry. Founded in 1985, Barclay currently maintains data on more than 6,100 hedge funds, fund of funds, and CTAs. No one has been in the business of collecting alternative investment data longer than BarclayHedge.

Institutional investors, brokerage firms, and private banks worldwide utilize BarclayHedge indices as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.