Ten of the Best Managed Futures Programs of 2014 by Attain Capital
We’ve been talking about Managed Futures 2014 performance a bit in this space… after it took 2nd place in the 2014 Asset Class Scoreboard (beating out the ever so popular U.S. Stock asset class).
But managed futures investors typically don’t invest in the asset class, they invest in managed futures programs (and funds). They invest in real managers doing real trades with real money. Which brings us to… the top such managers (by returns only) last year. Now, some of these yearly numbers will make you look twice, they sure did for us. And we will make sure to say that one year’s performance doesn’t make a track record. It’s just as important, if not more so, to look at risk metrics like the all time maximum drawdown we list below, and to see how the program does year over year on a risk adjusted basis. But, these are some impressive yearly numbers, so we’ll give some credit where credit is due.
(Disclaimer: past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Programs listed consist of those with at least a 3 year track record tracked by Attain Capital Management for investment by clients via managed accounts and do not represent all available programs in the managed futures universe. The Max DD represents the worst drawdown of all time for the listed programs).
| Top 10 CTA’s of 2014 | 2014 ROR | Max DD | Min. Invst. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purple Valley Capital – Diversified Trend | 88.58% | -49.34% | 1,000,000 |
| Dreiss Research Corp. (QEP) | 85.89% | -51.44% | 1,000,000 |
| Mulvaney Capital — Global Markets (QEP) | 67.37% | -45.02% | 10,000,000 |
| Silicon Valley Quantitative — UQP Small | 65.80% | -41.61% | 200,000 |
| Tactical Investment — Instl. Comm. (QEP) | 50.06% | -41.51% | 10,000,000 |
| Somers Brothers Capital — Diversified Futures | 49.49% | -33.56% | 800,000 |
| Schindler Capital — Daily Advantage | 48.98% | -41.49% | 100,000 |
| KeyQuantSAS — Key Trends (QEP) | 46.19% | -19.15% | 10,000,000 |
| Southwest Mngd — Global Diversified | 44.94% | -32.79% | 200,000 |
| Ancile Capital — Global Markets | 42.75% | -16.18% | 1,000,000 |
(Disclaimer: Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results)
P.S. — If we didn’t have that 3yr track record min requirement, this program’s +200% annual return would’ve been at the top.
P.P.S. — While December seems all but a memory, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the the top 10 list for the month gone by, as we’ve done all year. Here’s December’s winners:
| Top 10 CTA’s of December | Dec. ROR | Max DD | Min. Invst. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Futures Trade AG – Swing Trading | 14.60% | -29.15% | 250,000 |
| Westphal Trading — Trend Following | 10.00% | -26.10% | 500,000 |
| Tactical Investment — Instl. Comm. (QEP) | 9.92% | -41.51% | 10,000,000 |
| Mulvaney Capital — Global Markets (QEP) | 9.05% | -45.02% | 10,000,000 |
| QMS Capital — Global Macro (QEP) | 8.73% | -11.27% | 25,000,000 |
| Mark J. Walsh & Company – Standard | 8.65% | -43.04% | 2,000,000 |
| Hyman Beck & Company — Global (QEP) | 8.50% | -33.24% | 1,000,000 |
| Vail Trading — Mosaic | 8.40% | -20.98% | 4,000,000 |
| Silicon Valley Quantitative — UQP Small | 8.06% | -41.61% | 200,000 |
| MN Xenon — Managed Futures 2X (QEP) | 7.56% | -35.04% | 2,000,000 |
(Disclaimer: Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results)
Image Courtesy: CFA Institute
