FAIRFIELD, Iowa, August 21, 2014 — Managed futures inched up 0.01% in July according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge. Year to date, the Index has gained 0.69%.
“Market concerns that the Federal Reserve may raise US interest rates sooner than anticipated drove investors to sell risk assets,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
“Equity prices declined, global bond yields fell, commodity prices were down, and the US dollar strengthened."
Three of Barclay’s CTA indices had gains in July, which were offset by losses in three other indices. The Agricultural Traders Index jumped 5.69%, Discretionary Traders gained 1.46%, and Currency Traders were up 0.32%.
Financial & Metals Traders lost 0.25% in July, Diversified Traders were down 0.12%, and Systematic Traders gave up 0.05%.
“Commodity markets were down on the month, led by the agriculture and petroleum markets, even as tensions rose in the Middle East and Ukraine,” says Waksman.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which measures performance of the largest CTAs, lost 0.77% in July.
Year to date, Agricultural Traders lead all managed futures strategies with a 7.45% return. Discretionary Traders are up 1.93%, and Systematic Traders have gained 0.90%.
The Barclay Currency Traders Index has lost 1.44% in 2014, and Financial & Metals Traders are down 0.97%.
Click here to view 35 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.