Coquest 40 Index July 2020 Update
The Coquest 40 Index finished July up 1.91%, on a weighted average basis. US equites finished higher due to positive earnings from major technology companies, despite significant declines in second quarter GDP’s across the globe. Performance was positive across all strategy buckets except for Foreign Exchange strategies. Trend following constituents make up the bulk of the index and finished up 2.81%. Profits were captured in long US and Asia (e.g., Japan) equity positions. Long US fixed income positions coupled with long precious metals positions proved fruitful as well due to dovish central bank rhetoric and global economic uncertainty. Some managers were able to switch from long to short and profit from short USD positions vs G10 currencies as the USD suffered its worst month in nearly a decade. Systematic non-trend managers included in the index, which largely consists of systematic global macro strategies, finished up 1.64% for the month. Most profits were made in long fixed income, long US equities, and short USD vs the G10 basket. Precious metals also proved fruitful as gold and silver benefited from the continued decline in the USD. 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 July down 2.33% and up 1.31% respectively. FX strategies suffered losses from the continued weakness in the USD, while gains in the short-term bucket were driven by precious metals and short USD positions.
