We’re a quarter way through 2014, and Managed Futures as a whole has yet to kick its performance into gear. Out of the four managed futures indices we track, the average performance for the month of March came out at -0.57%, putting the average Q1 performance at -1.80% {past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results}.
(Disclaimer: past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results)
While Commodities as a whole are on the rise in 2014, a lot of markets experienced a reversal in trends in March; including Coffee, Sugar, Wheat, and Gold. Meanwhile, the energies markets were choppy, while on the flipside, Lean Hogs continued its upward trend. We need more trends like in Lean Hogs, and less reversals like seen in stock indices and bonds, to erase the red off the board. That’s not to say individual programs can’t outshine the asset class over any one period, see here.
Lackluster performance towards the beginning of the year is nothing new for managed futures, with the asset class known for a history of strong 2nd half performance, but we sure could use that kicking in earlier this year.