Strong uptrends in equities, bonds, the US Dollar and gold helped push managed futures funds to another profitable month. CTA funds posted a 0.98% return in July, according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions.
For the year-to-date, CTA funds finished July up 5.24%.
US-China trade war concerns coupled with the very real possibility of a no-deal Brexit and expectations of Fed loosening set the stage for big moves in equity, fixed income, currency and precious metals markets, said Sol Waksman, president of BarclayHedge. Momentum traders reaped the rewards as uptrends in the four major market sectors provided profitable trading opportunities.
All CTA sectors but three were positive for July, led by the MPI Elite Systematic Traders Index which was up 3.67% on the month. The Systematic Traders Index gained 1.42% in July while the Diversified Traders Index posted a 1.36% monthly return and the Financial/Metals Traders Index was up 1.25%.
July wasnt as kind to cryptocurrencies, with the Cryptocurrency Traders Index off 10.90% for the month. Also losing ground in July were the Discretionary Traders Index, down 0.17%, and the Agricultural Traders Index, dropping 0.12%.
The rains came on time in July and agricultural markets sold off as yield expectations recovered from more pessimistic levels, said Waksman.
For the year-to-date, all CTA sectors are in the black. While the Cryptocurrency Traders Index had a tough July, it remains the year-to-date sector leader with a 53.42% return. The MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index is up 9.48% for the year-to-date through July 31, the Systematic Traders Index returned 5.35%, the Diversified Traders Index gained 5.41% and the Financial/Metals Traders Index is up 5.01%.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which tracks the performance of the largest CTAs that are still open for new investment, gained 8.37% year-to-date through the end of July.
For a complete table of Barclay CTA Index results as well as historical data, click here.
