But even amid the gloom, managed futures was the only alternatives category to be in net positive flows, perhaps a sign that advisors have come to recognize managed-futures funds as one of the best diversifying options in a portfolio.
The Year in Alternative Funds: A Bumpy Road With Some Bright Spots – (MorningStar)
Money managers boosted their combined net-long position, or bets on prices gains, across 18 commodities by 9.7 percent in December, government data show.
Hedge Funds Bet the Commodity Revival Will Keep Going in 2017 – (Bloomberg)
Meanwhile, the dog of the past few years, long-only commodities, had one of its best years in recent history (after back to back -30% performances).
Final 2016 Asset Class Returns – (RCM’s Attain Alternatives Blog)
Institutional investors account for 71% of total hedge-fund assets, compared with 20% in 2002, according to Citigroup Inc., based on data from HFR and eVestment.
Clients Want Hedge Funds but Not Their Big Bets – (Wall Street Journal)
Machine learning has become the topic de jour for hedge funds, but while Tim Wong, chairman of Man AHL and Man Group Asia, says they have had some success using such techniques, he doesn’t expect to put his feet up and leave all the decision making to machines just yet.
Hedge funds embrace machine learning, but humans are still in charge – (South China Morning Post)
His message there that, basically, “everything you know about technical analysis is wrong” is presented with clarity and passion. It’s been enough to make me question my own beliefs on the chart reading methods I’ve used for years.
Why Some Technical Analysis May No Longer Be Effective: An Interview With Michael Harris – (Forbes)
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission also have unfilled seats, which will give the Trump administration a large role in shaping the oversight of financial markets
Massad Resigns as Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman – (New York Times)
Historically, managed futures have demonstrated the tendency to protect portfolios during stock market declines. The reason that managed futures have had strong performance during periods of market turmoil is because of their ability to invest both long (betting on positions moving up in price) and short
Protect Your Investments Now – (Forbes)
If you break out the futures sectors into their own markets, there’s no doubt that most “commodity” futures markets ended the year in the green. Here’s the 2016 performance of the 47 futures markets listed on our quote service of choice, Finviz.
The Best and Worst Futures Markets of 2016 – (RCM’s Attain Alternatives Blog)
