Managed futures gained 0.16% in August according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge. Year-to-date, the Index remains  down 0.51%.

“Increasing  volatility across global markets provided profitable opportunities for most of the  major sectors,” says Sol Waksman (pictured), founder and President of BarclayHedge.  

Six of  Barclay’s eight CTA indices had gains in August. The Barclay Diversified Traders Index was up 1.19%, Discretionary Traders gained 0.96%, Systematic Traders added 0.60%, and the Agricultural Traders Index rose 0.57%.

“Global equity markets declined sharply as fears of Lehman redux took hold,” says Waksman. “The rally  in bond prices proved to be a boon for many traders as well.”

The Currency Traders Index had the largest loss in August, giving up 0.89%.The Index dipped into negative territory with a 0.32% loss year-to-date.

“Currency traders had the most difficulty as market sentiment moved from risk-off to risk-on and then back again," says Waksman. "Although more than 56 per cent of all CTA firms reporting an August return have been  profitable, only 43 per cent of currency traders ended the month on the plus side.”