October 2020 Strategic Analysis by Kettera: Insights and Trends
In a guest article published by AlphaWeek, owned by The Sortino Group, Kettera Strategies provides an overview of the performance of various hedge fund and managed futures strategies in October.
The report highlights that more profitable energy programs capitalised on the strong rally in U.S. natural gas or sell-offs in crude and European energy markets. However, the factors influencing the performance of these energy programs in October remain unclear from the Kettera report.
Systematic trend programs had mixed results, with most performing slightly negatively due to long equities and long U.S. fixed income positions. Quant macro programs, on the other hand, experienced negative returns in October, primarily due to poor performance in equities indices and smaller losses in G10 FX. The specific reasons for the poor performance of these programs are not detailed in the Kettera report.
Ag commodities specialists were October's outperformers, with most experienced grain traders benefitting from long corn and soybean positions. The report does not delve into the reasons behind the strong performance of grain traders.
Most discretionary managers underperformed in October, particularly in fixed income and precious metals, notably gold. The factors influencing the underperformance of discretionary managers are not specified in the report.
The BarclayHedge Currency Traders Index and BTOP FX Traders Index, the Barclay Crypto Traders Index, the CBOE Eurekahedge Relative Value Volatility Hedge Fund Index, the Eurekahedge Long Short Equities Hedge Fund Index, the Eurekahedge AI Hedge Fund Index, and the Eurekahedge-Mizuho Multi-Strategy Index are all mentioned in the report, but the performance drivers for these indices are not discussed.
It's worth noting that the returns for short-term & higher frequency traders varied widely, depending on types of models, time frames, and markets traded. The report does not provide insight into the factors influencing the performance of these traders.
The report concludes by emphasising that hypothetical performance results from the "style baskets" presented in the letter have inherent limitations and should not be used to predict actual trading results.
While the Kettera report provides a performance overview for June 2025, it does not offer specific insights into the October performance drivers for various manager types or strategy categories. For a more detailed analysis of the factors influencing the performance of these strategies in October, further research would be required.
In the Kettera report, it's comprehensible that the factors driving the performance of investment strategies in data-and-cloud-computing technology, such as quantifying the impact of advancements in data and cloud computing on finance and investing, were not discussed. Furthermore, exploring how technology could potentially enhance the profitability of various hedge fund and managed futures strategies, particularly in October, was also beyond the scope of the report.
