Managed Futures

Vision Financial Markets, GreenWave's Futures Clearing Merchant, is a leader in the managed futures industry, offering programs from a number of established Commodity Trading Advisors. For more than twenty years, Vision has been a strong proponent of the use of managed futures as an important part of a balanced asset allocation and has worked to educate Introducing Brokers and clients on the benefits and risks of managed futures.

What are Managed Futures?

Managed futures are a highly flexible alternative investment traded on many financial and commodity markets around the world. By broadly diversifying across markets, managed futures may simultaneously profit from price changes in stock indices, treasury futures or bond futures, and currencies, as well as from diverse commodity markets having virtually no correlation to traditional asset classes such as the stock market.

Modern Portfolio Theory first developed by Harry Markowitz of the University of Chicago in 1952 dictates that a diversified portfolio of uncorrelated assets can provide maximum return for minimal volatility. Managed futures offer investors one of the most uncorrelated and independent investments relative to most other traditional asset classes.

Why has there been such Substantial Growth in Managed Futures?

Recent growth in managed futures has been substantial. According to Barclay Hedge, assets under management for managed futures are $197.4 billion year-to-date. Managed futures have historically been uncorrelated with the returns in traditional asset classes, enabling them to enhance returns as well as lower overall volatility.

The benefits of managed futures within a well-balanced portfolio include:

• Potential to lower overall portfolio risk;
• Opportunity to enhance overall portfolio returns;
• Broad diversification opportunities;
• Opportunity to profit in a variety of economic environments; and
• Limited losses due to a combination of flexibility and discipline.

Managed futures are investment products in which professional money managers called Commodity Trading Advisors ("CTAs") direct investments in the futures markets utilizing futures contracts and/or options on futures. While investment management professionals have been using managed futures for more than 30 years, institutional investors such as corporate and public pension funds, endowments and banks have more recently begun to employ managed futures in pursuit of a well-diversified portfolio.   

Academic research on the suitability of managed futures has been significant and supportive of the investments. For example, in a 1983 landmark study entitled "The Potential Role of Managed Futures Accounts in Portfolios of Stocks and Bonds," Dr. John Lintner of Harvard University found that "portfolios . . . including judicious investments . . . in leveraged managed futures accounts show substantially less risk at every possible level of expected return than portfolios of stocks (or stocks and bonds) alone."

Please be advised that trading futures and options involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors.  There are no guarantees of profit no matter who is managing your money An investor must read and understand the current disclosure document before investing.  Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

To learn more about managed futures and to request your copy of Managed Futures: Portfolio Diversification Opportunities from the CME Group, please contact us.

Vision's List of Recommended Commodity Trading Advisors

GreenWave offers clients access to a number of managed futures programs. Vision Financial Markets, our Futures Clearing Merchant spares no effort in finding Commodity Trading Advisors that they feel offer the potential for good returns while also employing good risk management strategies.

Vision uses specific criteria when choosing recommended Commodity Trading Advisors. These Commodity Trading Advisors can be established or emerging, but in Vision's opinion they all share a few things in common including a disciplined investment approach, a positive track record and a strong management team. When Vision finds such Commodity Trading Advisors, they attempt to work closely with them to educate suitable clients regarding the benefits and the risks associated with making an investment.

> View Vision's Recommended Commodity Trading Advisors