Coquest 40 Index December 2019 Update
The Coquest 40 Index was modestly negative for the month of December, finishing down 0.62%. The 40 finished 2019 up 7.53% for the calendar year, its largest annual gain on since 2014. Performance across all strategy buckets was mixed. Trend following constituents make up the bulk of the index and finished down 0.54% for the month, but up 8.11% for the year on a weighted average basis. Rising yields, coupled with a weaker USD, more than offset gains in global equity markets, resulting in losses for trend following strategies. Performance for the systematic non-trend managers included in the index, which largely consists of systematic global macro managers, was flat finishing up 0.06% for the month, while finishing up 2.28% for the year on a weighted average basis. 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 December down 3.45% and up 0.04% respectively. The USD reversed, erasing the bulk of its previous gains for the year and resulting in losses for FX strategies, while short term strategies were able to capture positive results from precious metals and global equity indices.
