July 18, 2012
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Make no mistake: ensuring that PFG customers get what’s rightfully theirs is an issue of justice. But it’s also hugely important to rebuilding confidence in the futures industry. Why is this industry so important? We touched on this last week, but an article from Business Insider today also highlighted the industry’s importance when they examined a whole range of stocks that are suffering because of rising corn prices. The current extreme drought is withering crops across the Midwest, sending grain prices soaring.
Fortunately, this is precisely why the futures trade was started in the first place. Buying and selling futures contracts can alleviate these woes in several ways. For one, corn futures give these companies the ability to directly hedge against price increases. If any of these companies are holding long positions in corn futures, for instance, the value of a September contract has soared 54% since the beginning of June, potentially offsetting some of their business losses. (Disclaimer: past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results). In this way, futures contracts function as an important source of insurance for companies who depend on potentially volatile commodities.
In addition, having a market able to set future prices for commodities can help smooth out supply and demand imbalances. When corn prices were relatively high (by historical standards) earlier in the year, farmers ramped up the amount of corn planted across the country – planting more acres than at any point in the last 75 years. The drought has damaged yield expectations for much of this crop, but imagine how much worse it would be if farmers hadn’t planted such an enormous crop. Without a robust futures trade setting a price the future value of crops, farmers across the country would have a much more difficult time planning this far ahead, and supply disruptions could prove even more damaging.
When commentators label futures contracts “derivatives” with a barely-concealed sneer, it does a disservice to the fundamental role this industry plays in the economy. The futures trade is too valuable to be hobbled by the corruption and incompetence of a few.
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.
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July 19, 2012
It’s me again, Chris from Canada and (ex?) PFGbest customer since 1998. Today I received my latest statement of accounts with execution prices for my future option contracts labeled as estimates reflecting last weeks prices, oil future options I may say. All my emails and phone calls during last week kept unanswered and this last “statement’ is just the tip of the ice berg. I have always wondered who is benefiting from a bankruptcy, … ?!