Well, it was a valiant effort… and while some of the managed futures indices were able to push into the black for 2013, the overall race is too close to call, with the average of the indices reporting so far coming out just on the wrong side of even despite the late 2nd half surge in performance. It’s worth noting these numbers are likely to fluctuate some as the BarclayHedge CTA index only has 1/3rd of their numbers reported, and the DJCS index is likely to be positive.
(Disclaimer: Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results)
Of course, whether the average of the various indices finishes slightly in the black, or remains slightly in the red likely doesn’t matter too much to investors. Most are probably not thrilled that it is anywhere near zero, not really caring if it is basis points on either side. They would rather it be on either side of +15%… not haggling over 10ths of a percent. But the silver lining is that managed futures, as a whole, are doing exactly what they promised in terms of risk control. They may not be delivering the returns, but they are doing a heroic job of controlling the downside – with this historic losing period for managed futures really nothing compared to the worst drawdowns of the stock market, gold, or real estate.
Here’s to a lack of red in the table 1 year from now.