Coquest 40 Index April 2020 Update
The Coquest 40 Index finished slightly up for the month, generating a +0.33% return on a weighted average basis. Equity markets across the globe rallied as risk sentiment improved due to central banks providing unprecedented stimulus packages. The S&P 500 was not the only market to set a record, the May contract for WTI Crude saw prices reach negative $37/barrel before settling at around $10/barrel. Performance was mixed across strategy buckets. Trend following constituents make up the bulk of the index and finished up 0.48%, although performance was quite varied. Gains came from the commodity sector, particularly short energy positions as demand weakened across the globe. Long fixed income positions also added to performance as governments continued supporting economies via monetary stimulus. Performance for the systematic non-trend managers included in the index, which largely consists of systematic global macro managers, finished up 1.00% for the month as they were able to capture the equity market recovery coupled with gains from long fixed income positions. The foreign exchange and short-term managers included in the index make up the remaining assets in the Coquest 40 and ended the month of April down 2.40% and 0.52% respectively. FX strategies suffered losses from a weaker USD, while short term strategies lost due to rising equities and weaker USD.
