Asset Class Scoreboard: January 2013
January may have been a decent start our favorite asset class, but half of the proxies we use to track various asset classes started the year at a full sprint. It may not be sitting atop the rankings, but this is how managed futures is supposed to operate.
Piles of Money Now! (Or, Why We Hate the E-Trade Baby)
It’s become something of an annual tradition for us to shake our heads at E-Trade’s Super Bowl ads. Seeing NFA member E-Trade put up a commercial that’s lacking any of the detailed disclaimers we’re required to provide… well, it just rubs us the wrong way. And it always serves as a reminder that the regulatory landscape is not even.
Fat Tails and Tall Heads
One of the bigger CTAs in the business – Transtrend – recently released their 2012 review newsletter, and included a deeper discussion of a risk metric we’ve briefly addressed before: Kurtosis. Now, most people aren’t even discussing Kurtosis, much less different aspects of Kurtosis – but you don’t get to $8 billion under management without knowing a thing or two about math, and their insight is definitely worth sharing.
Weekend Reads
The week finished up mostly as it started – with US equities marching slowly, relentlessly upward. The big story of the week for us was the news that the villain of the PFGBest debacle, Russ Wasendorf, Sr., was officially sentenced to what will probably be the rest of his life in prison. There’s more to be done, but we’re happy to take it one victory in the meantime. We’ll be back at it next week, but in the meantime, here’s what we’re reading heading into the weekend.
Managed Futures Finish January Up 1.46%
Finally some good news: per the Newedge CTA Index, managed futures has kicked off 2013 with a good month. We (and many others) have spent quite a bit of time over the last couple of months trying to figure out what went wrong in 2012… so what’s changed so far this year?
Disclaimers
Managed futures, commodity trading, forex trading, and other alternative investments are complex and carry a risk of substantial losses. As such, they are not suitable for all investors. You should not rely on any of the information as a substitute for the exercise of your own skill and judgment in making such a decision on the appropriateness of such investments.
The entries on this blog are intended to further subscribers understanding, education, and – at times – enjoyment of the world of alternative investments. Unless distinctly noted otherwise, the data and graphs included herein are intended to be mere examples and exhibits of the topic discussed, are for educational and illustrative purposes only, and do not represent trading in actual accounts. Opinions expressed are that of the author.
The mention of specific asset class performance (i.e. +3.2%, -4.6%) is based on the noted source index (i.e. Newedge CTA Index, S&P 500 Index, etc.), and investors should take care to understand that any 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.
The performance data for various Commodity Trading Advisor (“CTA”) and Commodity Pools are compiled from various sources, including Barclay Hedge, RCM’s own estimates of performance based on account managed by advisors on its books, 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 mention of general asset class performance (i.e. managed futures did well, stocks were down, bonds were up) is based on RCM’s direct experience in those asset classes, estimates of performance of dozens of CTAs followed by RCM, and averaging of various indices designed to track said asset classes.
The mention of market based performance (i.e. Corn was up 5% today) reflects all available information as of the time and date of the publication.
The owner of this blog, RCM Alternatives, may receive various forms of compensation from certain investment managers highlighted and/or mentioned within the blog, including but not limited to retaining: a portion of trade commissions, a portion of the fees charged to investors by the investment managers, a portion of the fees for operating a fund for the investment managers via affiliate Attain Portfolio Advisors, or via direct payment for marketing services.
Managed Futures Disclaimer:
Past Performance is Not Necessarily Indicative of Future Results. The regulations of the CFTC require that prospective clients of a managed futures program (CTA) receive a disclosure document when they are solicited to enter into an agreement whereby the CTA will direct or guide the client’s commodity interest trading and that certain risk factors be highlighted. The disclosure document contains a complete description of the principal risk factors and each fee to be charged to your account by the CTA.
See the full terms of use and risk disclaimer here.
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