FAIRFIELD, Iowa, May 21, 2014 — Managed futures gained 0.15% in April according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The Index is down 0.60% in 2014.
“A mid-month trend change in global equity markets kept managers on either side of the market cautious,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
Six of Barclay’s eight CTA indices were in positive territory in April. The Barclay Discretionary Traders Index gained 0.61%, Agricultural Traders were up 0.58%, Diversified Traders gained 0.19%, and Systematic Traders added 0.13%.
“A continuing downtrend in interest rates despite consensus predictions of rising rates coupled with a broad rally in commodity markets provided some of the better opportunities for profitable trades in April,” says Waksman.
After four months, all eight managed futures indices tracked by BarclayHedge have losses. Financial & Metals Traders are down 2.21%, Currency Traders have lost 1.75%, the Agricultural Traders Index is down 1.69%, and Systemic Traders have given up 0.84%.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which measures performance of the largest CTAs, gained 0.27% in April. The BTOP50 is currently down 1.28% 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.