Managed futures gained 3.76 per cent in September after losing 1.63 per cent in August, according to flash estimates from the Barclay CTA Index.

Managed futures gained 3.76 per cent in September after losing 1.63 per cent in August, according to flash estimates from the Barclay CTA Index. 'The Federal Reserve took aggressive action at its September meeting and cut the US federal funds rate by 0.50 per cent rather than 0.25 per cent as was expected,' says Sol Waksman, founder and president of The Barclay Group.

All eight of Barclay's CTA indices were profitable in September. Diversified traders jumped 5.24 per cent, systematic traders gained 4.14 per cent, and the financial and metal traders index was up 2.31 per cent.

'The larger than expected rate reduction fuelled inflation fears and increased downward pressure on the US dollar,' Waksman says. 'Commodity prices, including the energy complex and metals, rallied as the dollar sunk to new lows against the euro.'

The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which monitors the performance of the largest traders, gained 2.66 per cent last month. 'Global stock markets overcame investor concerns and rallied as confidence increased that central banks would act to avert a major decline,' Waksman says.

Seven of the eight of Barclay managed futures indices show modest gains for the year. The only exception is the agricultural traders index, which is down 2.26 per cent for the first nine months of 2007.

Founded in 1985, the Barclay Group tracks more than 6,400 hedge funds, funds of hedge funds and managed futures programmes. Barclay has created and regularly updates 18 proprietary hedge fund indices and eight managed futures indices used by institutional investors, brokerage firms and private banks as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.