We’ve been a little busy around the office (if you’re wondering why, click here), and for whatever reason, the DJCS index took forever to update, but we have all the data and a moment to breathe, so it’s time to bring us up to speed on how the various asset classes are faring in 2012. We may be inching towards the end of July at this point, but this is where things stood as of the end of June.

The updated year to date asset class scoreboard through June took a decidedly different turn than it appeared as of the end of May. US stocks, world stocks, and real estate all bounced back from the May downturn. Bonds, managed futures, and hedge funds, on the other hand, all fell to lower year-to-date levels. Other than agricultural managed futures programs, which benefitted from a sustained increase in grain prices, managed futures programs faced generally unfavorable market conditions. As we noted throughout the month, many of the short positions that contributed to managed futures gains in May were still open when the markets bounced back in June, erasing gains and causing losses. This is not what we’d hoped to see, but there’s still plenty of room for things to change in the second half of the year.

July’s numbers will be interesting to watch, particularly from a managed futures perspective. Between massive volatility in grains and asset flows as a result of FCM concerns, to say the numbers will be unpredictable might be an understatement.

 Managed Futures = Newedge CTA Index, Cash = 13 wk T-Bill rate,

Bonds = Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND), Hedge Funds = DJCS Core Hedge Fund Index

Commodities – iShares GSCI ETF (GSG), Real Estate = iShares DJ Real Estate ETF (IYR)

World Stocks = MCSI World Index (ex USA), US Stocks = S&P 500