Managed Futures Off to Quick Start in 2008; Barclay CTA Index Up 1.96% in January

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, February 11, 2008– Managed futures gained 1.96% in January according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.

“Fear was in the driver’s seat in January as global equity markets spiraled lower,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

“Market weakness was fueled by Societe Generale’s unannounced liquidation of a vast fraudulent stock index futures position on a day when U.S. markets were closed.”

All eight of Barclay’s CTA indexes were profitable in January. The Diversified Traders Index gained 3.28%, Systematic Traders were up 2.21%, Discretionary Traders rose 1.21%, Financial and Metals Traders were up 1.08%, and Agricultural Traders gained 0.46%.

“Recession worries coupled with increasing anxiety over the credit crisis drove the US Federal Reserve to lower interest rates twice during the month,” says Waksman. “CTAs that rely on trend-following methodologies for trade selection were properly positioned in anticipation of a rate decrease.”

The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which monitors performance of the largest traders, rose 0.84% in January.

Click here to view 28 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, formerly known as The Barclay Group, was founded in 1985, and actively tracks more than 6,600 hedge funds, fund of hedge funds, and managed futures programs. Barclay has created and regularly updates 18 proprietary hedge fund indexes and eight managed futures indexes.

Institutional investors, brokerage firms and private banks worldwide utilize Barclay’s data as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.