Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: April 25, 2026
Whilst hedge funds suffered in March, CTAs appear to have come out of the month largely unscathed.
The Barclay CTA Index, which is managed by BarclayHedge was -0.03% in March, with just over 86% of funds reporting results. This means that while hedge funds, in the form of the HFR Index, gave up year-to-date gains in March, CTAs remain comfortably in the black at +4.78%.
Currency traders also had a quiet month with the Currency Traders Index at -0.11%, for +0.8% on the year, while the Cryptocurrency Traders Index managed a positive month at +0.22%, but it remains deep in the red at -10.51% for the first quarter.
After a period of similar performance, the spike in volatility saw discretionary traders outperform systematic. The Discretionary Traders Index was +2.63% in March, bringing it to +8.56% on the year – the best performing sub-index – while the Systematic Traders Index was -0.94%, making year-to-date performance +4%. There was a better result for the MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index, which was +0.35% in March for +7.08%.
The BTOP50 Index, which seeks to replicate the overall composition of the managed futures industry with regard to trading style and overall market exposure, was an estimated -1.15% in March. This dampens a good start to the year for the index, however it is still a very healthy +7.39% after the first quarter.
Things were a little tougher for funds in the SG Prime suite of indices and fortunes were, relatively speaking, reversed. The headline SG Macro Trading Index was -1.93% in March, but it remains +2.68% year-to-date. While both discretionary and quant trading firms dipped, however, the latter “outperformed”, with the SG Macro Trading Index (Discretionary) falling 2.71% and the Quantitative Index falling 0.47%. Year-to-date the two indices are +3.02% and +2.16% respectively.