Barclay CTA Index Gains 0.18% in August, According to Backstop BarclayHedge
A strong month for equities, energy and metals coupled with U.S. dollar weakness offset mixed performance among other market sectors to provide a modest gain
FAIRFIELD, Iowa, Sept. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Managed futures funds turned in another positive month in August returning 0.18%, according to the Barclay CTA Index, compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions. For the year-to-date, CTAs were up 2.73% through August.
"The S&P 500 extended its on-going rally to five months, prices for energy and precious metals rose and the U.S. dollar continued to weaken against most currencies," said Sol Waksman, president of BarclayHedge. "Other futures markets were not as accommodating as evidenced by an even split on the month between winning and losing funds."
Sectors making up the Barclay CTA Indices were also evenly split for August. Those in the black were led by the Cryptocurrency Traders Index, which was up 14.15%. The Agricultural Traders Index gained 0.72% in August, the Discretionary Traders Index was up 0.68% and the Diversified Traders Index returned 0.28%.
On the other side of the ledger, sectors in the red for August included the MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index, which was down 0.97%, the Currency Traders Index, which was off 0.65%, the Financial & Metals Traders Index losing 0.38% and the Systematic Traders Index, which lost 0.14%.
All but one of the sectors tracked remained in positive territory for the year-to-date. The Cryptocurrency Traders Index led the way returning 79.95%, while the Agricultural Traders Index gained 9.55%, the Currency Traders Index was up 5.13% and the Discretionary Traders Index returned 4.73%.
The MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index remained the lone sector in the red year-to-date, down 3.82% through August.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which tracks the performance of the largest CTAs that are still open for new investment, was down 0.11% in August. Year-to-date, the BTOP50 was up 0.04%.
For a complete table of Barclay CTA Index results as well as historical data, click here.
About Backstop Solutions
Backstop's mission is to help the institutional investment industry use time to its fullest potential. We develop technology to simplify and streamline otherwise time-consuming tasks and processes, enabling our clients to quickly and easily access, share and manage the knowledge that's critical to their day-to-day business success. Backstop provides its industry-leading cloud-based productivity suite to investment consultants, pensions, funds of funds, family offices, endowments, foundations, private equity, hedge funds and real estate investment firms.
BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop, currently maintains data on more than 6,900 hedge funds, funds of funds and CTAs. The BarclayHedge Indices are utilized by institutional investors, brokerage firms and private banks worldwide as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.
SOURCE BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions Group
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