Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Managed Futures Maintain 2008 Gains; Barclay CTA Index Up 1.37% in May
FAIRFIELD, Iowa, June 18, 2008 – Managed futures turned positive again in May, gaining 1.37% according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.
“Both rising and falling commodity prices helped propel CTAs to another profitable month,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
“Prices for crude oil and gasoline continued an uninterrupted uptrend, and most traders held onto their profitable long positions.”
All eight BarclayHedge managed futures indices were positive in May. The Diversified Traders Index was up 1.73%. Diversified Traders have gained an impressive 13.53% in the first five months of 2008.
“In addition to taking advantage of favorable commodity markets, CTAs trading diversified portfolios were able to profit from a steepening yield curve in the U.S., rising stock prices in North American markets, and a strengthening of the Aussie dollar,” says Waksman.
The Barclay Systematic Traders Index gained 1.28% in May, Financial and Metals Traders rose 0.91%, Discretionary Traders were up 0.83%, and Agricultural Traders gained 0.65%.
“Wheat prices continued to fall due to a favorable harvest outlook, while soybean prices rose reflecting the negative expectations for this year’s crop.”
The Barclay CTA Index has risen 7.93% in the first five months of 2008, exceeding its 7.64% gain for all of 2007.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which monitors performance of the largest traders, rose 1.29%, and is up 5.66% through the end of May. 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 more 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 6,800 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 Barclay’s data as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.
“Both rising and falling commodity prices helped propel CTAs to another profitable month,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
“Prices for crude oil and gasoline continued an uninterrupted uptrend, and most traders held onto their profitable long positions.”
All eight BarclayHedge managed futures indices were positive in May. The Diversified Traders Index was up 1.73%. Diversified Traders have gained an impressive 13.53% in the first five months of 2008.
“In addition to taking advantage of favorable commodity markets, CTAs trading diversified portfolios were able to profit from a steepening yield curve in the U.S., rising stock prices in North American markets, and a strengthening of the Aussie dollar,” says Waksman.
The Barclay Systematic Traders Index gained 1.28% in May, Financial and Metals Traders rose 0.91%, Discretionary Traders were up 0.83%, and Agricultural Traders gained 0.65%.
“Wheat prices continued to fall due to a favorable harvest outlook, while soybean prices rose reflecting the negative expectations for this year’s crop.”
The Barclay CTA Index has risen 7.93% in the first five months of 2008, exceeding its 7.64% gain for all of 2007.
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which monitors performance of the largest traders, rose 1.29%, and is up 5.66% through the end of May. 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 more 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 6,800 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 Barclay’s data as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.
Labels: BarclayHedge press release, managed futures
Monday, June 16, 2008
Hedge Funds Get a Lift in May; Barclay Hedge Fund Index Up 1.91%
FAIRFIELD, Iowa, June 16, 2008 – Hedge funds gained 1.91% in May according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge.
“More than 85 percent of the hedge funds on our platform reported a profitable return for May,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
“For profitable hedge funds, the average return in May was a gain of 2.57 percent.”
With one notable exception, all of Barclay's 18 hedge fund indices had positive returns in May. The Barclay Equity Long Bias Index was up 3.21%, Distressed Securities rose 2.73%, Healthcare and Biotechnology gained 2.58%, and the Technology Index was up 2.41%.
Performance in the equity markets was not equally distributed this month, and not all regions saw gains.
“The U.S. and Canadian equity markets had positive returns for May, whereas European markets were mixed, and in the UK prices actually declined,” says Waksman.
“Performance in the emerging markets was also mixed, with Latin America and Eastern Europe gaining while Asian markets suffered setbacks.”
The one losing strategy in May was Equity Short Bias, which fell 3.19%. Barclay’s Equity Short Bias Index still leads all other hedge fund strategies in 2008, with a 4.99% gain over the past five months.
The Barclay Fund of Funds Index rose 1.79% in May, but is still down by 1.74% for the year.
Click here to view five years of Barclay Hedge Fund Index data, or download 11 years of monthly data.
Sol Waksman is an experienced media source, providing perspectives on hedge fund and managed futures trends. For more 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 6,800 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 Barclay’s data as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.
“More than 85 percent of the hedge funds on our platform reported a profitable return for May,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
“For profitable hedge funds, the average return in May was a gain of 2.57 percent.”
With one notable exception, all of Barclay's 18 hedge fund indices had positive returns in May. The Barclay Equity Long Bias Index was up 3.21%, Distressed Securities rose 2.73%, Healthcare and Biotechnology gained 2.58%, and the Technology Index was up 2.41%.
Performance in the equity markets was not equally distributed this month, and not all regions saw gains.
“The U.S. and Canadian equity markets had positive returns for May, whereas European markets were mixed, and in the UK prices actually declined,” says Waksman.
“Performance in the emerging markets was also mixed, with Latin America and Eastern Europe gaining while Asian markets suffered setbacks.”
The one losing strategy in May was Equity Short Bias, which fell 3.19%. Barclay’s Equity Short Bias Index still leads all other hedge fund strategies in 2008, with a 4.99% gain over the past five months.
The Barclay Fund of Funds Index rose 1.79% in May, but is still down by 1.74% for the year.
Click here to view five years of Barclay Hedge Fund Index data, or download 11 years of monthly data.
Sol Waksman is an experienced media source, providing perspectives on hedge fund and managed futures trends. For more 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 6,800 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 Barclay’s data as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.
Labels: BarclayHedge press release, hedge funds
Monday, June 9, 2008
April Commodity Trading Advisor and Hedge Fund Performance
Commodity Trading Advisor performance for April as measured by the Barclay CTA Index averaged -0.40%. May’s estimate based on the performance of the Barclay BTOP50 Index is +1.29%.
Hedge funds had a positive month in April reflected by gains in seventeen of our eighteen indices. The average return for the 3,036 hedge funds (ex. FoFs) that have so far reported an April return is +1.92%. The estimates for May, along with the number of funds reporting for each of our 18 sectors can be found at the link below. These indices are being continually updated as current returns for the underlying hedge funds are recorded into our system. As of this writing, 17 of 18 hedge fund sectors are showing positive returns for May.
Hedge Fund Indices and Managed Futures Indices
From the April 2008 issue of Barclay's Insider Report. Accredited investors can subscribe to the full newsletter for free.
Hedge funds had a positive month in April reflected by gains in seventeen of our eighteen indices. The average return for the 3,036 hedge funds (ex. FoFs) that have so far reported an April return is +1.92%. The estimates for May, along with the number of funds reporting for each of our 18 sectors can be found at the link below. These indices are being continually updated as current returns for the underlying hedge funds are recorded into our system. As of this writing, 17 of 18 hedge fund sectors are showing positive returns for May.
Hedge Fund Indices and Managed Futures Indices
From the April 2008 issue of Barclay's Insider Report. Accredited investors can subscribe to the full newsletter for free.
Labels: Barclay Insider Report, commodity trading advisor, hedge funds, managed futures
Crisis and Hedge Fund Risk
By Monica Billio of the University of Venice - Department of Economics, Mila Getmansky of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst - Department of Finance & Operations Management, and Loriana Pelizzon of the University of Venice - Department of Economics
Studies the effect of financial crises on hedge fund risk.
Download the full article here
From the June 2008 issue of Barclay's Insider Report. Accredited investors can subscribe to the full newsletter for free.
Labels: Barclay Insider Report, Barclay Insider Report Guest Article, hedge fund risk
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