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FAIRFIELD, Iowa, June 18, 2008– Managed futures turned positive again in May, gaining 1.37% according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.
“Both rising and falling commodity prices helped propel CTAs to another profitable month,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
“Prices for crude oil and gasoline continued an uninterrupted uptrend, and most traders held onto their profitable long positions.”
All eight BarclayHedge managed futures indices were positive in May. The Diversified Traders Index was up 1.73%. Diversified Traders have gained an impressive 13.53% in the first five months of 2008.
“In addition to taking advantage of favorable commodity markets, CTAs trading diversified portfolios were able to profit from a steepening yield curve in the U.S., rising stock prices in North American markets, and a strengthening of the Aussie dollar,” says Waksman.
The Barclay Systematic Traders Index gained 1.28% in May, Financial and Metals Traders rose 0.91%, Discretionary Traders were up 0.83%, and Agricultural Traders gained 0.65%.
“Wheat prices continued to fall due to a favorable harvest outlook, while soybean prices rose reflecting the negative expectations for this year’s crop.”
The Barclay CTA Index has risen 7.93% in the first five months of 2008, exceeding its 7.64% gain for all of 2007.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which monitors performance of the largest traders, rose 1.29%, and is up 5.66% through the end of May.
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 The Barclay Group) was founded in 1985 and actively tracks more than 6,800 hedge funds, funds 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.
