CTAs Start 2022 in Positive Manner

CTAs had a reasonable start to the year, with the Barclay CTA Index recording a 0.63% rise for the month with just under 80% of funds reporting. The MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index, which captures the average return of the 20 largest systematic firms, had a much better time of it, however, rising 2.46% to start 2022 in style.

All sub-indices were in positive territory apart from, unsurprisingly given the decline in values over the month, the Cryptocurrency Traders Index, which fell 9.77%. Currency traders were up 0.3% on the month, barely out-performing Fin/Metals traders at +0.29%

Discretionary traders continued their recent trend of outperforming their systematic brethren – the Discretionary Traders was up 1.74% in January, while the Systematic Traders Index managed a 0.43% increase.

The BTOP50 Index, which seeks to replicate the overall composition of the managed futures industry with regard to trading style and overall market exposure, was up 1.65% in January, while the SG CTA Index rose 2.1% to start the year. Completing a positive start was the SG Trend Index, which rose 3.4% for the month, while the SG Short-Term Traders Index was up 1.2%.