Commodity trading advisors (CTAs) use proprietary trading methods and money management techniques to establish market positions in commodity, financial futures and foreign currency markets around the world. This broad geographic exposure allows for participation in market trends and economic events worldwide. Managed futures strategies can be either discretionary or systematic.
Discretionary. This class is characterized by proprietary approaches employing technical and/or fundamental analysis in a specific combination. The strategies are usually either short-term based or consist of spread trading approaches.
Systematic. Proprietary computer models generate buy and sell decisions. The models utilize quantitative analysis of different technical factors. The most typical examples of this class are trend following or counter-trend models. The trading is frequently 100% systematic, i.e. no human interference with the trading decisions.
