Thu, Jul 2, 2026
A A A
Welcome Guest
Free Trial RSS pod
Get FREE trial access to our award winning publications
Alternative Market Briefing

Using machine learning to capture commodities outperformance

Thursday, March 03, 2022

Rotella Capital Management has a new look. The firm, now known as Rotella Qdeck, is reimagining itself with the aid of new technology and a new platform for investors.

The platform is the culmination of two years of work Rotella has done to refine and improve its trading programs and investor offerings. In the fourth quarter of 2018, Rotella implemented machine learning models across the entire spectrum of Rotella funds. Today, approximately 70% of the programs use machine learning models.

As markets continue to muddle through pandemic-related uncertainty and now significant global geopolitical threats, commodities are outperforming. Commodities can be used as a hedge against inflation, which has driven some of the outperformance in recent months. Now as geopolitical concerns put pressure on global energy supplies, oil prices have hit new highs.

Rotella Qdeck's ML Commodity Program, a new program for the firm, uses a combination of proprietary momentum and risk management signals to trade these trends dynamically. The strategy targets 10-12% realized volatility and relies on unique trading algorithms that trade across asset classes including crude oil, gasoline, natural gas, gold, silver, copper, corn, soybeans, and wheat.

Alongside this strategy, Rotella Qdeck has created a commodities micro-strategy, which uses CME micro futures to maintain limited positions of up to $50k. From there, the strategy trades very granular positions within commodities markets. The strategy trades within the crude oil, natural gas, gold, silver, copper, corn, soybeans, and wheat markets.

During the upcoming Small Mangers Big Alpha Webinar, Kemp Nicklin of Rotella Qdeck will discuss both of these strategies in-depth and provide views on what investors may be able to expect in commodities markets this year. Registration is free.

Upcoming webinar:

Small Managers - BIG ALPHA Episode 7

Episode 7 of this ground breaking webinar series presents you another carefully screened panel of investment managers:

Bas Emmerig, Savin Funds
Nikos Kargadouris, Balliol Road
Laurent Jeanmart, Katch Investment Group
• Kemp Niklin, Rotella Capital Management

When: Tuesday, March 8th 2022, at 10:30 am ET
Free registration: www.opalesque.com/webinar/


Previous Opalesque Exclusives                                  
Previous Other Voices                                               
Access Alternative Market Briefing

 



  • Top Forwarded
  • Top Tracked
  • Top Searched
  1. Other Voices: Nvidia extraordinary growth and the challenge of sustaining demanding valuations over time[more]

    Antonio Di Giacomo, Senior Market Analyst at XS.com, writes: Nvidia has established itself as one of the most extraordinary growth companies in the global technology sector. Over the past two fiscal years, its revenues have risen from levels close to $60 billion annually to well above $120 billi

  2. Secondaries take center stage: What the 2026 PE landscape means for GPs and investors[more]

    Matthias Knab, Opalesque for New Managers: The 2026 edition of Dechert's Global Private Equity Outlook - "Signs of a Gradual Thaw" - marks a notable shift in industry sentiment. After years of compr

  3. And, finally: Time to share it with the people[more]

    From Newsoftheweird: Leavenworth, Washington, has become a tourist destination because of the Bavarian theme businesses have adopted there, NPR reported. One shop, the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, houses the world's largest nutcracker collection, thanks to 101-year-old Arlene Wagner. Wagner sta

  4. Opalesque Exclusive: Private Markets Evergreen Funds - An Insider's View[more]

    Matthias Knab, Opalesque for New Managers: Private Markets Evergreen Funds: What Investors Need to Know Before They Dive In The democratization of private markets is well underway. Structural barriers t

  5. Opalesque Exclusive: Governance, Scale, and Boutique Resilience in a Consolidating Hedge Fund Industry[more]

    Matthias Knab, Opalesque for New Managers: The hedge fund industry has undergone significant consolidation in recent years, with capital increasingly concentrated among large multi-strategy platforms. Yet boutique m