How does the performance of managed futures accounts compare to self-directed accounts?
Some individual investors — those who have the know-how, time, access to information, and necessary temperament — are highly successful in directing their own futures trading. Unfortunately, however, the record suggests that only a small percentage of “do-it-yourself” futures traders possess these requisites for success. Studies indicate that somewhere between two out of three and nine out of ten lose money. However, of the 119 funds and pools in the Managed Account Reports Fund/ Pool Qualified Universe Index that traded from January 1990 through October 1996, 81% were profitable over the full time period.
