Managed futures funds posted a second straight losing month in October, down 0.30% for the month, according to the Barclay CTA Index, compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions. For the year-to-date, CTAs were up 1.53% through October.

“A surging wave of new coronavirus infections took its toll on equity markets in October,” said Sol Waksman, president of BarclayHedge. “Although China’s economic rebound contributed to gains in some commodity markets, it was not enough to overcome CTA losses resulting from a downturn in the value of equities and the U.S. dollar.”

Most CTA sectors gave up ground in October, though three posted monthly gains. The Cryptocurrency Traders Index returned 9.37%, the Agricultural Traders Index was up 0.38% and the Discretionary Traders Index gained 0.13%.

Sectors posting losses for the month included the Systematic Traders Index, down 0.55%, the Financial & Metal Traders Index, off 0.45%, the MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index, losing 0.34%, the Diversified Traders Index, retreating 0.33%, and the Currency Traders Index, giving up 0.18%.

Nearly all sectors were up for the year-to-date through October, led by the Cryptocurrency Traders Index which gained 80.65%. The Agricultural Traders Index was up 10.58% year-to-date, the Currency Traders Index gained 4.60%, the Discretionary Traders Index returned 4.53%, the Diversified Traders Index gained 1.32%, the Systematic Traders Index was up 1.31% and the Financial & Metal Traders Index posted a 0.85% return.

The MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index remained the lone sector in the red for the year-to-date, losing 5.22%.

The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which tracks the performance of the largest CTAs that are still open for new investment, was down 0.40% in October. Year-to-date the BTOP50 has dropped 1.78%.

For a complete table of Barclay CTA Index results as well as historical data, click here.

About Backstop Solutions

Backstop’s mission is to help the institutional investment industry use time to its fullest potential. We develop technology to simplify and streamline otherwise time-consuming tasks and processes, enabling our clients to quickly and easily access, share and manage the knowledge that’s critical to their day-to-day business success. Backstop provides its industry-leading cloud-based productivity suite to investment consultants, pensions, funds of funds, family offices, endowments, foundations, private equity, hedge funds and real estate investment firms.

BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop, currently maintains data on more than 7,100 hedge funds, funds of funds and CTAs. The BarclayHedge Indices are utilized by institutional investors, brokerage firms and private banks worldwide as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Sol Waksman

BarclayHedge