FAIRFIELD, IOWA JULY 12, 2022

The managed futures industry returned to a monthly gain in June, returning 0.23% for the month, according to the Barclay CTA Index, compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions. It was the sixth month out of the past seven that CTAs were in positive monthly territory.

CTAs remained in the black for the year-to-date as well, returning 8.18% through June.

“In an environment where most asset classes and investment strategies have hemorrhaged value, many CTAs and Managed Futures funds have absolutely thrived,” remarked Ben Crawford, Head of Research at BarclayHedge. “Both the typical systematic- and discretionary- shops have returned a percentage point or more for the first six months of the year. The average diversified player has done even better, delivering in excess of 2% per month and the most consistent traders have delivered closer to 3% per month. Against the backdrop of freefall in global debt, equity and crypto markets, this is an even-more compelling accomplishment.”

The winners for the month saw similar results with the Systematic Traders Index returning 0.61%, the Diversified Traders Index advancing 0.58% and the Currency Traders Index up 0.56%. The MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index trailed other gainers in June with a 0.15% return.

Subsectors booking losses in June included the Discretionary Traders Index off -1.24%, the Agricultural Traders Index down -0.88%, and the Financial/Metals Traders Index just south of even at -0.08%. Digital Asset funds continued to languish amidst the squalls of another ‘crypto winter’—leading the Cryptocurrency Traders Index to shed -17.54% in June.

All CTA subsectors are ahead on a year-to-date basis with the salient exception of Cryptocurrency Traders. The MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index has enjoyed an exemplary 17.01% cumulative return through the first half of 2022. It was followed by the Diversified Traders Index (+12.53%); the Systematic Traders Index (+9.36%); the Discretionary Traders Index (+7.58%); the Currency Traders Index (+5.68%); the Agricultural Traders Index (+3.07%); and the Financial/Metals Traders Index (+1.47%).

The Cryptocurrency Traders Index remained the lone subsector losing ground for the year to date, down -42.01% through July.

The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which tracks the performance of the largest CTAs open for new investment, returned 1.19% in June. For the year-to-date, the BTOP50 gained 15.64%.

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 6,900 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: 

Maryling Yu

pr@backstopsolutions.com