The CME is on a rolllll, launching their second new product in recent months (right behind the micro E-mini). In their words “…..in response to interest in cryptocurrencies and customer demand for tools to manage bitcoin exposure, CME options on Bitcoin futures (BTC) are now trading.” Many would say you can’t really have a successful […]
Category: Alternative Investments
22
Jan
2020
Will we ever stop talking about the VIX?
We’re honestly not totally sure if we’ll ever stop talking about the VIX. We correctly guessed (not that hard) the VIX was going to be a big part of the 2019 conversation, and we’re back 365 days later in our Managed Futures Outlook 2020 talking about it again: … did anything really change in terms […]
16
Jan
2020
Why Politics and Systematic Trading Don’t Mix
In an outtake from our Managed Futures Outlook 2020 – we can’t ignore the effect that politics have had on systematic trading programs over the past year or so. Something that could take a toll in the year to come…. Trade wars, new presidents and new economic policies or the impending Brexit vote will have […]
14
Jan
2020
December Performance Snapshot
We field a bunch of calls at the start of each month asking how that hedge fund, this emerging manager, and that mutual fund did last month, and thought to simplify things for you with this categorized list of different alternative investment performance for the month gone by. Note: These performance numbers and calculations include […]
09
Jan
2020
Asset Class Scoreboard: December 2019
And just like that….we’ve wrapped up another year and the final scores have been posted across the various asset classes. Positives: Every. Single. Asset. Class. Ended. In. The. Green. This is a far cry from where we ended out last year where everything (besides cash) was in the red. U.S. Stocks, World Stocks, and U.S. […]
02
Jan
2020
Are Negative Interest Rates coming in 2020? Do we care?
Welcome to early 2020, where we have a whole year of TBDs and fill-in-the-blanks ahead of us. One of the big unknowns for us in the US is whether the negative interest rate experiment will spread from Asia and Europe onto our shores. We covered what this could mean for alternative investments in our Global […]
31
Dec
2019
Asset Class Scoreboard – The Decade (2010-2019)
We’re closing out the decade with one final look back on some of the top performing markets, asset classes, and alternative investment funds over that time. Last up, the broad asset classes we track in our monthly Asset Class Scoreboard: US Stocks, World Stocks, Hedge Funds, Real Estate, Bonds, Commodities and Managed Futures – where […]
16
Dec
2019
2020 Outlook Linkfest
What do the likes of Blackrock, UBS, and Goldman Sachs have to say about where markets are headed in 2020. Here’s the links, with our favorite chart from each: Goldman UBS Blackrock Nuveen JP Morgan Wells Fargo Natixis Cambridge & Associates Other Links: Schwab Market Perspective: […]
13
Dec
2019
November Manager Performance Snapshot
We field a bunch of calls at the start of each month asking how that hedge fund, this emerging manager, and that mutual fund did last month, and thought to simplify things for you with this categorized list of different alternative investment performance for the month gone by. Commodity Program Last Month YTD Minimum […]
09
Dec
2019
Commodity Performance Over the Decade (2009-2019)
Just 22 days left in the decade, and we’re going to use a good portion of those to look back on some of the top performing markets, asset classes, and alternative investment funds over that time. First up, commodities, which would likely rather not be mentioned at all. Talk about a lost decade….2010 through 2019 […]
