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Barclay CTA Index Down 0.68% in August; Equity Rally Reversal Creates CTA Losses

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, September 17, 2013 — Managed futures lost 0.68% in August according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The Index is down 2.41% 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%, Systematic Traders gave up 0.82%, Currency Traders lost 0.48%, and Financial & Metals Traders were down 0.46%.

“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% in August, and Discretionary Traders were up 0.23%.

The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which measures performance of the largest CTAs, lost 1.21% 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%, and Currency Traders are up 0.77%.

The Diversified Traders Index has lost 3.37% through August, Systematic Traders are down 2.15%, and Financial & Metals Traders have lost 0.82%.

Click here to view 33 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 was founded in 1985 and actively tracks more than 6,200 hedge funds, funds of hedge funds, and managed futures programs. Each month Barclay provides updated performance rankings for 38 Hedge Fund categories, 16 CTA categories, and 7 UCITS categories.

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