Editor's Note

Changes and Opportunities

It is hard to keep up with all the new rules proposed for the financial industry. Here are guides to regulatory change. Jonathan Golub, a lawyer who works with hedge funds and commodity trading advisors, gives the Inside Talk on US regulations of particular interest to futures traders. In Regulators, Scott Alintoff and John Avery from SunGard review the regulatory overhaul of over-the-counter derivatives and suggest how to prepare for what’s coming.

That’s one kind of change. Other developments already underway are at least as important. Investors want more for their money—more reward for the risk, longer track records. But perceptions of managed futures have not always been accurate. In Futures Lab, a report from MF Global throws light on some of the common myths.

One of these myths is about volatility. The widely used Sharpe ratio is misleading because it does not distinguish upside from downside volatility. Increasingly investors are using the Sortino ratio, which does not have this problem. Our Top Ten are ranked by Sortino ratio. And Founder Francisco Vaca has an exceptional Sortino ratio.

Another CTA with a distinguished track record is Ken Kinkopf. In Manager Profile he discusses the system he’s been trading since 1999.

As for the challenges posed by changes, Adam Rochlin from MF Global says those who see the opportunities will do well.

Chidem Kurdas,
Editor

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About OFI

This new publication addresses the interests of the managed futures community, including commodity trading advisers, fund managers, brokerages and investors in managed futures pools. Published every two weeks, Opalesque Futures Intelligence (OFI) provides original research by industry members as well as interviews with veteran industry players and upcoming managers. The coverage includes:

  • Performance information from different data bases, accompanied by commentary.
  • Top funds of the year or month.
  • Regulatory and legal developments that affect managed futures.
  • Manager profiles.
  • Results from proprietary surveys.
  • Analysis of futures strategies and markets.
  • Summary of relevant news from the global media.

A sophisticated newsletter for a growing community, OFI meets a need currently not served by other publications. It is a must-read for anyone interested in futures trading or investing.

Opalesque Futures Intelligence is edited by Chidem Kurdas. Chidem is an economist by training and a hedge fund specialist by experience. In the past she held positions as research analyst at Thomson Reuters, New York bureau chief at HedgeWorld and news editor at Infovest21. Earlier she taught economics at Pennsylvania State University and published a book about technology investing.

She writes about funds and financial regulation for a number of blogs and publications, including The Independent Review. She is a member of the New York University Colloquium on Market Institutions, Finans Network for Turkish finance professionals and the New York Financial Writers Association.

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