February started out much as January had gone, with managed futures making slow but steady gains throughout the month. But then the whipsaw environment that took hold in the final days of the month erased those month’s gains and then some, only to reverse course yet again in the final days. When the dust had settled, the big swings had cancelled one another out, leaving the Newedge CTA Index up only slightly at 0.10%. Year-to-date that leaves the index with a gain of 1.56%. (Disclaimer: past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.)

CTA performance was hurt by trend reversals in foreign currency, foreign stock indexes, energy, and fixed income sectors. Some of the losses were a give back of a portion of the profits made the previous months in markets like euro currency, yen, and bonds. Other losses came in the energy sector (RBOB, Heating Oil) as upward trends initiated prior to the Nor’easter snowstorm reversed course. Fortunately, the correction was not prolonged enough to stop many managers out of their trades, leaving them in position to enjoy the rebound that brought the index to even by the month’s end.