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FAIRFIELD, Iowa, March 13, 2013 – Managed futures lost 0.53% in February according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The Index remains up 0.77% year to date.
“A combination of trend reversals and downdrafts across the major futures markets made the task of extracting profits more difficult in February,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
Four of Barclay’s eight CTA indices had negative returns in February, while four indices gained ground. The Diversified Traders Index was down 0.93%, Systematic Traders lost 0.69%, and the Financial & Metal Traders Index slid 0.07%.
“Commodity markets were down, interest rates reversed trend toward the end of the month, and equity trading required getting the country and the direction right in order to come out ahead,” says Waksman.
The Currency Traders Index gained 0.51% in February, Discretionary Traders added 0.11%, and Agricultural Traders were up 0.10%.
“Currency traders had the benefit of the wind to their backs from a rising US Dollar as a gridlocked election in Italy weakened the EUR and concerns over further easing by The Bank of England triggered selling in the GBP,” says Waksman.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which measures performance of the largest CTAs, gained 0.18% in February.
All eight CTA strategies monitored by BarclayHedge are in positive territory thus far in 2013. After two months, Diversified Traders are up 1.00%, Currency Traders have gained 0.98%, and Agricultural Traders have added 0.93%.
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.
