FAIRFIELD, Iowa, March 18, 2014 — Managed futures gained 1.03% in February according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The Index is up 0.39% in 2014.
“A late-month rally in commodity prices and the continued uptrend in US Treasuries contributed to a profitable month for most CTAs,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
Five of Barclay’s eight CTA indices had gains in February. The Barclay Diversified Traders Index was up 1.73%, Systematic Traders gained 1.25%, Financial & Metals Traders were up 0.58%, and the Discretionary Traders Index rose 0.24%.
Currency Traders lost 1.17% in February, and the Agricultural Traders Index was down 0.50%.
“Trading the currency markets proved difficult in February, as unanticipated weakening of China’s renminbi and strength of the euro, yen and Australian dollar against the US dollar contributed to losses,” says Waksman.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which measures performance of the largest CTAs, lost 0.24% in February. The BTOP50 is now down 2.19% year to date.
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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.