FX Futures: 40 Years Later

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of FX (foreign exchange) futures by the CME, which is definitely a reason to pause and consider where said markets rest today. In the CME’s white paper, The Birth of FX Futures, they describe this realm’s evolution as such:

In December of 1971, under the direction of its principal architect, Leo Melamed, then chairman of the CME, the exchange chartered the International Monetary Market (IMM), an independent division specifically designed to exclusively specialize in futures trade of instruments of finance. To fully comprehend the innovative impact of the International Monetary Market on the history of markets, one must understand that from its inception the IMM represented both a specific and general revolutionary departure from traditional futures. In the narrow sense, by launching FX futures contracts, the first financially based futures product, the IMM led futures markets into the financial arena. However, in a macroeconomic sense, it represented a much more significant transformation: it ushered in the era of financial derivatives and its modern risk management applications.

The exchange attributes much of these markets’ development to the support of Milton Friedman, detailing his fight not only to have them launched, but adopted by the wider investing population. It was a bit of a challenge to convince financial players that a world that had, for decades, been relegated to the world of large bank movement, was one in which they could or should participate. However, as time has gone on, financial futures have become, in many ways, the backbone of the futures industry, boasting some of the most liquid markets in the world. These markets, however, can also be found in the center of global political tensions, as we see today with heightened concerns about Greece. The Wall Street Journal explains:

Jerky shifts in exchange rates could lie ahead as a Greece-inspired rush into the safe-haven dollar prompts some traders to warn that liquidity in the foreign-exchange market is suffering.

The buck rose across the board Wednesday, pushing other major currencies lower and hammering emerging-market currencies as investors headed for safety following Tuesday’s failure by Greek politicians to avoid fresh elections.

Some traders described conditions as “surprisingly orderly,” but others were more concerned.

“I think we’re not far away from markets becoming quite illiquid and disorderly, although for now we can get deals done, despite a lot of tension in markets,” said one trader at a large currencies-dealing bank in London.

As investors started to take the idea of a Greek euro exit more seriously, the euro plunged to four-month lows against the dollar to trade at $1.2681 and sank to a fresh 3.5-year low against sterling, trading as low as GBP0.7950. The Australian dollar was also under pressure, slipping to its lowest level against the dollar since December, to trade at $0.9883.

In a classic panicky trading pattern, emerging-market currencies swooned, with the Indian rupee sliding to record lows. Authorities in Indonesia and South Korea were suspected of intervening to support their currencies, while traders were nervous of similar action in Thailand, Malaysia and India.

While this kind of volatility may make some investors cringe, managed futures is welcoming the volatility, with several of the managers we track either long the U.S. Dollar short the Euro (Clarke Capital Worldwide, Integrated Managed Futures CorporationDominion Capital, Bouchard Capital) or short the Euro long the US dollar (Covenant Capital, Auctos Capital), and benefitting (for now) from these sharp moves. Granted, past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results, and as we talked about recently, there will be many strike outs for every home run, but after 40 years, it’s fair to say that FX futures have been a boon for the asset class, opening up a wide array of trending markets for participation. You really can’t understate the significance of the impact they’ve had on global finance – and managed futures in particular – with most multi-market trend following programs boasting some exposure to FX futures.

But the thing about futures markets is that they’re never static – they are constantly evolving and growing, with new markets and market participants moving in and out of the flow over time. Who knows?  Maybe 40 years from today, we’ll be celebrating the dawn of a futures markets evolution we never even saw coming.

*Edit – We originally switched the US dollar and Euro positions held by the managers we cited. We apologize for the error.

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Disclaimer
The performance data displayed herein is compiled from various sources, including BarclayHedge, and reports directly from the advisors. These performance figures should not be relied on independent of the individual advisor's disclosure document, which has important information regarding the method of calculation used, whether or not the performance includes proprietary results, and other important footnotes on the advisor's track record.

The programs listed here are a sub-set of the full list of programs able to be accessed by subscribing to the database and reflect programs we currently work with and/or are more familiar with.

Benchmark index performance is for the constituents of that index only, and does not represent the entire universe of possible investments within that asset class. And further, that there can be limitations and biases to indices such as survivorship, self reporting, and instant history. Individuals cannot invest in the index itself, and actual rates of return may be significantly different and more volatile than those of the index.

Managed futures accounts can subject to substantial charges for management and advisory fees. The numbers within this website include all such fees, but it may be necessary for those accounts that are subject to these charges to make substantial trading profits in the future to avoid depletion or exhaustion of their assets.

Investors interested in investing with a managed futures program (excepting those programs which are offered exclusively to qualified eligible persons as that term is defined by CFTC regulation 4.7) will be required to receive and sign off on a disclosure document in compliance with certain CFT rules The disclosure documents contains a complete description of the principal risk factors and each fee to be charged to your account by the CTA, as well as the composite performance of accounts under the CTA's management over at least the most recent five years. Investor interested in investing in any of the programs on this website are urged to carefully read these disclosure documents, including, but not limited to the performance information, before investing in any such programs.

Those investors who are qualified eligible persons as that term is defined by CFTC regulation 4.7 and interested in investing in a program exempt from having to provide a disclosure document and considered by the regulations to be sophisticated enough to understand the risks and be able to interpret the accuracy and completeness of any performance information on their own.

RCM receives a portion of the commodity brokerage commissions you pay in connection with your futures trading and/or a portion of the interest income (if any) earned on an account's assets. The listed manager may also pay RCM a portion of the fees they receive from accounts introduced to them by RCM.

Limitations on RCM Quintile + Star Rankings

The Quintile Rankings and RCM Star Rankings shown here are provided for informational purposes only. RCM does not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of this information. The ranking methodology is proprietary and the results have not been audited or verified by an independent third party. Some CTAs may employ trading programs or strategies that are riskier than others. CTAs may manage customer accounts differently than their model results shown or make different trades in actual customer accounts versus their own accounts. Different CTAs are subject to different market conditions and risks that can significantly impact actual results. RCM and its affiliates receive compensation from some of the rated CTAs. Investors should perform their own due diligence before investing with any CTA. This ranking information should not be the sole basis for any investment decision.

See the full terms of use and risk disclaimer here.

Disclaimer
The performance data displayed herein is compiled from various sources, including BarclayHedge, and reports directly from the advisors. These performance figures should not be relied on independent of the individual advisor's disclosure document, which has important information regarding the method of calculation used, whether or not the performance includes proprietary results, and other important footnotes on the advisor's track record.

The programs listed here are a sub-set of the full list of programs able to be accessed by subscribing to the database and reflect programs we currently work with and/or are more familiar with.

Benchmark index performance is for the constituents of that index only, and does not represent the entire universe of possible investments within that asset class. And further, that there can be limitations and biases to indices such as survivorship, self reporting, and instant history. Individuals cannot invest in the index itself, and actual rates of return may be significantly different and more volatile than those of the index.

Managed futures accounts can subject to substantial charges for management and advisory fees. The numbers within this website include all such fees, but it may be necessary for those accounts that are subject to these charges to make substantial trading profits in the future to avoid depletion or exhaustion of their assets.

Investors interested in investing with a managed futures program (excepting those programs which are offered exclusively to qualified eligible persons as that term is defined by CFTC regulation 4.7) will be required to receive and sign off on a disclosure document in compliance with certain CFT rules The disclosure documents contains a complete description of the principal risk factors and each fee to be charged to your account by the CTA, as well as the composite performance of accounts under the CTA's management over at least the most recent five years. Investor interested in investing in any of the programs on this website are urged to carefully read these disclosure documents, including, but not limited to the performance information, before investing in any such programs.

Those investors who are qualified eligible persons as that term is defined by CFTC regulation 4.7 and interested in investing in a program exempt from having to provide a disclosure document and considered by the regulations to be sophisticated enough to understand the risks and be able to interpret the accuracy and completeness of any performance information on their own.

RCM receives a portion of the commodity brokerage commissions you pay in connection with your futures trading and/or a portion of the interest income (if any) earned on an account's assets. The listed manager may also pay RCM a portion of the fees they receive from accounts introduced to them by RCM.

Limitations on RCM Quintile + Star Rankings

The Quintile Rankings and RCM Star Rankings shown here are provided for informational purposes only. RCM does not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of this information. The ranking methodology is proprietary and the results have not been audited or verified by an independent third party. Some CTAs may employ trading programs or strategies that are riskier than others. CTAs may manage customer accounts differently than their model results shown or make different trades in actual customer accounts versus their own accounts. Different CTAs are subject to different market conditions and risks that can significantly impact actual results. RCM and its affiliates receive compensation from some of the rated CTAs. Investors should perform their own due diligence before investing with any CTA. This ranking information should not be the sole basis for any investment decision.

See the full terms of use and risk disclaimer here.

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