Managed futures gained 1.66 percent in June, according to the Barclay CTA Index. The Index is up 2.26 percent through June 2007.
“Managed futures rose for the third consecutive month, reversing losses during the first quarter of 2007,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of The Barclay Group. “Although the Dollar continued to be weak against most currencies, it gained strength against the Yen based on BOJ indications that interest rates would remain steady, providing profitable trading opportunities for many CTAs.”
All of Barclay’s eight CTA indexes were up in June. The Agricultural Index gained 2.27 percent, Diversified Traders was up 1.93 percent, Systematic Traders rose 1.77 percent, and the Financial and Metals Traders Index gained 1.24 percent.
“Bond traders were able to profit as weakness in the sub-prime market drove U.S. bond prices down for much of the month,” says Waksman.
Barclay’s CTA indexes reflect modest gains for all strategies after the first six months of 2007. The Diversified Traders Index is up 3.17 percent, Systematic Traders rose 2.91 percent, and Financial/Metal Traders have gained 2.08 percent.
Larger CTAs have outperformed smaller players over the first two quarters of 2007. The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which monitors the largest CTAs, rose 1.50 percent in June, and is now up 6.22 percent for the year.