August 2022 Kettera Strategies Overview
In August 2022, the financial landscape presented a mix of challenges and opportunities for Kettera Strategies' various manager categories, reflecting the volatile and dynamic market conditions of the time.
Systematic Trend Managers
Systematic trend managers, who typically thrive on persistent market trends and volatility, faced some difficulties when markets exhibited choppy or mean-reverting behaviour. Despite these challenges, many systematic trend strategies recorded moderate gains as certain asset classes maintained directional moves.
Discretionary Global Macro Managers
Discretionary global macro managers faced a range of outcomes due to their active positioning and flexibility across global markets. The month was marked by increased geopolitical tensions and inflation concerns, which created both opportunities and risks. Some discretionary macro managers capitalised on interest rate moves and commodity price shifts, leading to mixed but overall moderate performances. However, August was a challenging month for many profitable discretionary global macro managers, who suffered setbacks.
Volatility/Options Specialists
Given the somewhat elevated market volatility in August 2022, volatility and options-based strategies tended to perform relatively well. Specialists in this area likely saw gains from increased options premiums and volatility trading, particularly due to comments by Fed Chairman Powell.
Currency Specialists
Currency strategies had varied results as the FX markets responded to central bank policies and economic data releases. Some currency specialists benefited from strong trends in major currency pairs, while others faced headwinds due to sudden shifts in monetary policy expectations.
Other Strategies
August was a month where the US dollar dominated, with long positioning in the USD versus the G10 being profitable. Returns for systematic trend programs were primarily found in fixed income and currencies. Managers that maintained short positions in bonds and short-term interest rates in Europe and North America were rewarded in August.
Long positions in the US dollar versus major currencies were one of the biggest winners for systematic trend programs. Trend-based systems did not fare well in commodities, with short precious metals positions being the only source of positive returns.
Managers that rely on trading flow data were generally sidelined in August due to weak flows. A blend of the Barclay Discretionary Traders Index and Bridge Alternatives Commodity Hedge Fund Index is mentioned, along with the Barclay Fixed Income Arbitrage Index and the Barclay Hedge Crypto Traders Index.
It's important to note that hypothetical performance results have many inherent limitations and should not be considered as a guarantee of actual trading results. The "style baskets" referenced are research tools created by Kettera for analysis and comparison purposes, not investable products or index products.
The Societe Generale Short-term Traders Index, the Eurekahedge Relative Value Volatility Hedge Fund Index, the Eurekahedge Long Volatility Index, the Eurekahedge Asset Weighted Multi Strategy Asset Weighted Index, the Barclay Hedge Fund Multi Strategy Index, the Eurekahedge Event-Driven Hedge Fund Index, the Barclay Agricultural Traders Index, the Barclay Hedge Currency Traders Index, and the Eurekahedge AI Hedge Fund Index are some of the benchmarks mentioned in this article.
For exact numerical performance data, you'd typically need access to Kettera Strategies' specific reports or databases from that period, as results can differ significantly across individual funds and sub-strategies within each manager category.
Investing in technology-based strategies could have been beneficial for Kettera Strategies in August 2022, as increased market volatility resulted in relatively strong performances for volatility and options-based strategies. Additionally, Treasury bond perspectives in systemic trend managers might have yielded moderate returns due to long positioning in the USD versus the G10 currencies.
