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FAIRFIELD, Iowa, January 10, 2006 - - Managed Futures lost 0.25 percent in December, but gained 1.86 percent overall in 2005, according to data released today by The Barclay Group.
"Several key markets reversed in December resulting in losses across many strategies," says Sol Waksman, founder and president of The Barclay Group. "Short-term interest rates, which had been rising, came down aggressively as the Fed signaled that its tightening may be over for the time being."
"The Japanese Yen, which had been trending lower based on its interest rate differential with the US Dollar, rallied strongly as US rates declined," says Waksman. "And cold weather in the U.S. helped to drive up prices for wheat, corn and soybeans, which had been in a prolonged decline."
Although the Barclay CTA Index was up just 1.86 percent for 2005, the Barclay BTOP50 Index fared a bit better, gaining 2.45 percent. The BTOP50 monitors performance of the largest CTAs.
Seven out of eight Barclay CTA indices ended 2005 with modest gains. The Discretionary Traders Index was up 6.20 percent, Agricultural Traders gained 3.01, and Financial/Metal Traders were up 1.53 percent. Only the Currency Index declined, down 0.62 percent for the year.
Click here to view 26 years of Barclay CTA Index data.
The Barclay Group, founded in 1985, actively tracks more than 5,100 hedge funds and managed futures programs.
Barclay has created and regularly updates 18 proprietary hedge fund indices and 10 managed futures indices.
Institutional investors, brokerage firms and private banks worldwide utilize Barclay's indices as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.
Sol Waksman is an experienced media source, providing perspectives on hedge fund and managed futures trends.
For more commentary, call Sol Waksman at 641-472-3456 or email sol@barclayhedge.com.
