.svg)
FAIRFIELD, Iowa, September 21, 2009– Managed futures gained 0.41% in August according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.
“Investor optimism remained high in August as the rally in equity markets extended to six consecutive months,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
Five of Barclay’s eight managed futures indices were profitable in August. The Systematic Traders Index gained 0.77%, Diversified Traders were up 0.76%, and Financial and Metals Traders rose 0.21%.
“Commodity markets, while generally lower in August, experienced significant divergence between various sectors,” says Waksman.
“Natural gas prices declined almost 25 percent while sugar gained more than 30 percent. And although prices for precious metals declined, base metals rallied.”
Through August, Agricultural Traders have gained 2.39% and Discretionary Traders are up 1.39%. But Diversified Traders have lost 3.82% year-to-date, and Systematic Traders are down 3.04%.
“Following a strong 14.09 percent gain by the Barclay CTA Index in 2008, its best performance in 18 years, the Index has lost 0.87 percent thus far in 2009,” says Waksman.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which monitors performance of the largest traders, rose 0.21% in August, but is still down 2.56% in 2009.
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 quotes, 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 6,000 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 BarclayHedge data as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.
