FAIRFIELD, Iowa, September 12, 2017 — Managed futures traders showed solid gains of 1.87% in August according to a flash estimate of the BarclayHedge BTOP50. For the year to date period, the index is down 2.39%.
“Managed futures had its best month of the year and the best returns since June 2016 in August,” according to Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge. “It’s too early to say that the industry has turned a corner but the signs are positive.”
Systematic traders led the way with a gain of 2.63%; 13 of the 14 systematic traders in the BTOP50 were profitable in August. Discretionary traders were essentially flat for the month, losing 0.04%. Two of the three discretionary traders had small losses. The BTOP50 Index has fallen in eight of the last 12 months, but has shown positive results the past two months, the first two month gain since June – July of 2016.
The BTOP50 Index seeks to replicate the overall composition of the managed futures industry with regard to trading style and overall market exposure. All funds in the index must be open for investment, have at least two years of trading activity, and report daily returns. Further information on the BTOP50 is available on the BarclayHedge website: BTOP50 Index.
Sol Waksman is the founder and president of BarclayHedge. Waksman is an industry expert and experienced media source, providing perspectives on hedge fund and managed futures trends.
BarclayHedge is the global leader in providing independent, research-based information services to the alternative investment industry. Founded in 1985, Barclay currently maintains data on more than 6,600 hedge funds, fund of funds, and CTAs. No one has been in the business of collecting alternative investment data longer than BarclayHedge.
Institutional investors, brokerage firms, and private banks worldwide utilize BarclayHedge indices as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.