Currency Traders Help CTAs Eke Out Small Gain

Currency traders helped CTAs generally eke out a small positive performance in February, according to the Barclay CTA Index, managed by BarclayHedge.

The headline Barclay CTA Index was +0.9% with just over 82% of funds reporting, exactly reversing January’s decline, for a zero year-to-date return.

Within the sub-indices, the Currency Traders Index rose 1.01%, for the second-best performance, this is a +2.74% year-to-date return. Best performer was the MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index, which was +1.74%, for +0.87% year-to-date.

Elsewhere, systematic traders outperformed their discretion brethren, reversing January’s results. The Systematic Traders Index was +0.21% in February for +0.14% year-to-date, while the Discretionary Traders Index fell 0.88% for a +0.08% year-to-date return.

The Cryptocurrency Traders Index was subdued in February, rising 0.27%, this after a very string January, means the index is +22.93% year-to-date – easily the best performer.

The BTOP50 Index, which seeks to replicate the overall composition of the managed futures industry with regard to trading style and overall market exposure, rose 1.3% in February. This leaves the index at +1.25% after two months of the year.

Elsewhere, the SG CTA Index rose 2.11%, for a 1.3% year-to-date return, while the SG Trend Index, rose 1.85%, reversing January’s losses, for a year-to-date return of 0.46%.