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Managed Futures Trading Systems: Systematic Trading in Your Own Account

Managed futures trading systems in your own account.

There’s a third path between paying 2-and-20 to a managed futures fund and coding your own strategy: trading proven systems in your own account — smaller minimums, full control, no management or incentive fees. Here’s how it works, the strategies, and the systems we trade, including Aztec25 and Aberration.

Trend Following with Managed Futures: The Search for Crisis Alpha

Trend following with managed futures: the search for crisis alpha.

Trend following is the engine behind most managed futures — a systematic, rules-based strategy that rides sustained price moves long or short across dozens of markets. Here’s how it works, why it delivers ‘crisis alpha’ in years like 2008 and 2022, and its honest tradeoffs.

Coffee and Cocoa Are Surging on El Niño Fears — What It Means for Managed Futures

Coffee and cocoa surge on El Niño supply fears.

Coffee and cocoa are surging again — arabica at a 5.5-month high, cocoa at 3.5-month highs — as markets reprice a strengthening El Niño and shrinking supply forecasts. Here’s what’s driving the moves and how systematic managed futures programs are built to engage with them.

Managed Futures Performance Update: June 2026

Managed futures June 2026 index-level performance recap.

Managed futures slipped about 1.09% in June per the SG CTA Index — a contained pullback as the US–Iran de-escalation reversed the oil and gold trends — but the strategy remains up roughly 9.28% year-to-date. Here’s the June 2026 index-level recap and what it means for allocators.

How Managed Futures Lower Portfolio Correlation

Managed futures as a low-correlation portfolio diversifier.

The 60/40 portfolio assumes bonds rise when stocks fall. In 2022 they fell together. Here is how managed futures lower portfolio correlation — why they behave differently from stocks and bonds, the crisis-period track record, and why even a small allocation matters.

El Niño Is Back: What a Strengthening 2026–27 Event Could Mean for Coffee, Cocoa, Sugar, and Palm Oil

A strengthening 2026–27 El Niño and the tropical softs markets.

NOAA has issued an El Niño Advisory with a 63% chance of a very strong event this winter. Here is what a strengthening 2026–27 El Niño could mean for coffee, cocoa, sugar, and palm oil — and how systematic traders and commercial hedgers approach it.

Crisis Alpha: How Systematic Futures Strategies Profit When Everything Else Suffers

When stock markets collapse, most investments bleed together. Bonds, stocks, hedge funds — all moving in lockstep downward. The one exception: managed futures strategies that follow systematic, trend-based trading rules. The Problem with Traditional Diversification For decades, the standard portfolio recipe was simple: 60% stocks, 40% bonds. When stocks fell, bonds were supposed to rise.… Continue reading Crisis Alpha: How Systematic Futures Strategies Profit When Everything Else Suffers

Managed Futures, May 2026: Trend Following Holds Through an Energy-Driven Reversal

Index returns for May 2026 vs. year-to-date. Source: SG Prime Services.

How broad managed futures indices fared in May 2026 — SG Trend, SG CTA, and SG Short-Term — and the energy-driven reversal, dollar strength, and gold consolidation that drove the spread between styles.

Managed Futures vs Hedge Funds: What Allocators Actually Need to Know

Two structures, very different mechanics.

Managed futures account or hedge fund? An honest comparison of structure, liquidity, transparency, fees, and tax treatment — from a 20-year IB.