Barclay CTA Index Up 0.98% in July According to Backstop BarclayHedge, Strength in Equities, Bonds, the US Dollar and Gold Lead the Advance

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, Aug. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Strong uptrends in equities, bonds, the US Dollar and gold helped push managed futures funds to another profitable month. CTA funds posted a 0.98% return in July, according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions.

For the year-to-date, CTA funds finished July up 5.24%.

"US-China trade war concerns coupled with the very real possibility of a no-deal Brexit and expectations of Fed loosening set the stage for big moves in equity, fixed income, currency and precious metals markets," said Sol Waksman, president of BarclayHedge. "Momentum traders reaped the rewards as uptrends in the four major market sectors provided profitable trading opportunities."

All CTA sectors but three were positive for July, led by the MPI Elite Systematic Traders Index which was up 3.67% on the month. The Systematic Traders Index gained 1.42% in July while the Diversified Traders Index posted a 1.36% monthly return and the Financial/Metals Traders Index was up 1.25%.

July wasn't as kind to cryptocurrencies, with the Cryptocurrency Traders Index off 10.90% for the month. Also losing ground in July were the Discretionary Traders Index, down 0.17%, and the Agricultural Traders Index, dropping 0.12%.

"The rains came on time in July and agricultural markets sold off as yield expectations recovered from more pessimistic levels," said Waksman.

For the year-to-date, all CTA sectors are in the black. While the Cryptocurrency Traders Index had a tough July, it remains the year-to-date sector leader with a 53.42% return. The MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index is up 9.48% for the year-to-date through July 31, the Systematic Traders Index returned 5.35%, the Diversified Traders Index gained 5.41% and the Financial/Metals Traders Index is up 5.01%.

The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which tracks the performance of the largest CTAs that are still open for new investment, gained 8.37% year-to-date through the end of July.

For a complete table of Barclay CTA Index results as well as historical data, click here.

About Backstop Solutions

Backstop's mission is to help the institutional investment industry use time to its fullest potential. We develop technology to simplify and streamline otherwise time-consuming tasks and processes, enabling our clients to quickly and easily access, share and manage the knowledge that's critical to their day-to-day business success. Backstop provides its industry-leading cloud-based productivity suite to investment consultants, pensions, funds of funds, family offices, endowments, foundations, private equity, hedge funds and real estate investment firms.

BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop, currently maintains data on more than 6,900 hedge funds, funds of funds, and CTAs. The BarclayHedge Indices are utilized by institutional investors, brokerage firms and private banks worldwide as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.

SOURCE BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions Group