CTAs Reinforce Good Start to 2024 in February
Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: March 20, 2024
CTAs built upon a steady start to the year in January by producing stronger returns in February, with all strategies in the Barclay CTA Index, managed by BarclayHedge, in the black.
The headline Barclay CTA Index was +1.96% for the month, with just under 84% of funds reporting. The result, if confirmed by the final data, will be the best return from the Index since April 2022.
Another good month for cryptoassets saw the Cryptocurrency Traders Index soar rebound from a slightly weak January, posting +26.32% for February and +25.31% year-to-date – although only 62% of funds in the sub-index have actually reported results. Currency traders also had a good month, the Currency Traders Index adding 1.81% for +1.98% on the year.
Best TradFi performer on the month was the MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index, which added 3.71% for a strong 5.01% start to the year. This was reinforced by the Systematic Traders Index, which rose 2.42% (+2.82% year-to-date), outperforming the Discretionary Traders Index at +0.76% (+1.01%).
It was an even better month for the BTOP50 Index, which seeks to replicate the overall composition of the managed futures industry with regard to trading style and overall market exposure, which added an estimated 4.21% in February. This puts the index at +5.25% two months into the year, which, if confirmed by the final data, is its best start to a year since 2008.