CME’s Micro E-mini S&P 500 futures contract (ticker: MES) is set to hit the market in exactly 3 days providing traders with the same benefits of an E-mini futures contract, just…smaller – 1/10th the size of an E-mini contract to be exact. We’ve broken down the micro E-mini vs the E-mini vs the full-size S&P […]
Category: Why Alternatives?
01
May
2019
Opening the door to China Trading
If you’re anything like us, posts like this explaining just how different China is than things here in the U.S. never cease to amaze: This is the Shanghai-Beijing train going at 350 km/h As @yfreemark said: “The distance between NYC and Chicago is almost exactly that between Beijing and Shanghai. NYC-CHI is served by 1 […]
01
May
2019
Asset Class Scoreboard: April 2019
What do you get for 4 straight months of positive performance and an annualized rate of return of nearly 15%. Nearly run out of town, it turns out, with the hedge funds are under performing drums getting louder and louder of late as traditional stock and real estate investments soar (50% annualized returns). Case in […]
18
Apr
2019
Don’t throw out Managed Futures with the Risk Premia bathwater
We half-jokingly asked in our Managed Futures/Global Macro 2019 Outlook, “Is this asset class working for you?” following a year in which managed futures didn’t deliver the crisis period performance they’ve become known for. But a recent piece in the hedge fund journal shows it wasn’t just trend following type CTAs that under performed in […]
11
Apr
2019
Winter (aka Vanguard) is Coming for Managed Futures?
No, we didn’t miss this headline. And we haven’t just been hiding our heads under a rock pretending to not have seen it. We definitely saw the news of Vanguard launching a commodities product. But unlike Josh Brown, this doesn’t seem like “lights out” for the managed futures space. Vanguard is coming for the managed […]
09
Apr
2019
3.5 million derivatives trades per hour
We like to highlight the Futures Industry Association (FIA) annual volume study every year, and were excited to see that global derivatives trading volume hit an all-time record in 2018. There were 30.3 Billion (with a B) global futures and options traded in 2018. That’s about 83 million trades per day, 3.5 million per hour, […]
14
Mar
2019
Here’s how 33 markets performed since the 2009 low
For long-time CNBC watchers, you no doubt remember the now deceased Mark Haynes saying 10 years ago, on the morning of March 10th 2009, that it felt like a bottom and that he thought this rally had legs. It didn’t hurt that the S&P 500 put in a devilish low of 666 the day before. […]
28
Feb
2019
Decoding: Myths in Alternative Investments
We love this quote by Blackrock, “A lot of misunderstanding surrounds alternative investments. Some investors still think of them as high-risk, exotic funds reserved for ultra-high-net-worth individuals and institutions. However, the reality is that alternatives had a place in nearly every portfolio.” There’s a certain cloud of “unknown” that shrouds alternative investments, perpetrated by the […]
19
Feb
2019
Thank You: RCM Wins Best IB Award for 6th Consecutive Year
We work hard around here…. real hard. Now, it’s not without a little fun now and again, but day in and day out we’re getting to work doing research, building technology, and forging relationships with our clients and the alternative investment managers they invest in. We don’t do it for awards or recognition… who even knew […]
15
Feb
2019
A review of 2018 predictions, and a look into 2019
We’re out with our annual Managed Futures/Global Macro Outlook, reviewing what went down on a macro level in 2018, while peering into what the market environment may look like for this asset class in 2019. For a sneak peek, check out our attempt at boiling down the last 10 years of experience in the asset class […]
