Speaking in baseball terms, Managed Futures is in a bit of a batting slump, recording 3 consecutive monthly losses with a down July according to the Newedge CTA Index; bringing the year to date to roughly even. If you’re looking for something positive, I guess we can say the -0.98% was a little better than the past two months (compared to -1.49% in June, -1.51% in May).
The losses can likely be pinned on some combination of metals, stock indices (with the S&P hitting a new all time high), and currencies – which all had quick reversals from their June down trends in the early part of July; as well as mixed performance from managers in grains (especially Soybeans) and energies.
Now what? With managed futures basically even after 7 months, they’ll need to start hitting some singles and doubles soon to avoid a 4th losing year out of 5. Luckily, history is on their side a little when considering the 2nd half of the year.