After two straight down months, the managed futures industry reversed course in November posting a 0.40% monthly return, according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions. Year-to-date, CTA funds posted a 5.04% return through the end of November.
“Trend followers were rewarded as the equity market extended their rally for another month,” said Sol Waksman, president of BarclayHedge. “Energy markets were mixed; crude oil prices rose while natural gas lost. In the agriculture sector, coffee and wheat advanced but corn and soybeans declined.”
All but two CTA sectors were in positive territory for November. The MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index took the lead with a gain of 1.08%, and the Systematic Traders Index rose 0.64%. The Financial & Metal Traders Index posted a 0.62% monthly return, the Diversified Traders Index was up 0.29%, and the Currency Traders Index rose 0.19%.
In the loss column, the Cryptocurrency Traders Index dropped 7.96% in November and the Discretionary Traders Index was down 0.45%.
All sectors remained in the black for the year-to-date through the end of November. Leading the pack was the Cryptocurrency Traders Index, up 39.04%, followed by the MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index, posting an 8.70% return. The Financial & Metal Traders Index gained 4.82% on the year while the Diversified Traders Index returned 3.82%.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which tracks the performance of the largest CTAs that are still open for new investment, gained 0.70% in November and is up 7.07% year-to-date.
For a complete table of Barclay CTA Index results as well as historical data, click here.
