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FAIRFIELD, Iowa, February 17, 2010– Managed futures lost 1.48% in January according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.
“Unanticipated appreciation of the US Dollar together with falling commodity and stock prices proved to be a toxic mix, resulting in January losses for 60 percent of CTAs,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
Six of Barclay’s eight managed futures indices lost ground in January. Diversified Traders fell 2.57%, Systematic Traders lost 2.25%, Financial & Metals Traders slid 0.24%, and Currency Traders were down 0.22%.
“Continued concern that the recovery will be W-shaped rather than V-shaped weighed heavily on equity prices,” says Waksman.
“Price declines for industrial metals, energy, and commodity-linked currencies all stemmed from a more pessimistic outlook for the economy.”
The only bright spot was the Barclay Agricultural Traders Index, which gained 1.69% in January.
“In spite of a bearish mid-month USDA production report, Agricultural Traders were able to end the month on the plus side,” says Waksman.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which monitors performance of the largest traders, was down 1.56% in January.
Click here to view 30 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 5,800 hedge funds, funds of hedge funds, and managed futures programs. Barclay has created and regularly updates 18 proprietary hedge fund indexes and eight managed futures indexes.
Institutional investors, brokerage firms and private banks worldwide utilize Barclay’s data as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.
