Dollar Rally Both Hazard and Opportunity for FX Managers

NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com)–Currency funds with a systematic approach were battered by the dollar rally in April. The systematic component of the Parker FX Index lost 2.1% for the month, while the index as a whole, including discretionary managers, went down 1.8%.

Some funds did well, however. FastTrac Portfolio, managed by Hyman Beck & Co. of Florham Park, N.J., was the top performer among the 53 currency funds in the index; it returned more than 5.5% for April.

Other high performers were Currency Portfolio by UBS O’Connor of London, up 4.2% and Compucom Finance Inc., Zurich, Switzerland, up 3.7%.

“FastTrac was able to capitalize on numerous opportunities on both sides of the market during April,” said Hyman Beck & Co. Principal Jim Lubin, in a statement. “Most notably, a rallying dollar near mid month provided particularly good trading opportunities.”

In terms of risk-adjusted returns, Allied Irish Capital Management of Dublin, Ireland, and Plimsoll Capital of Summit, N.J., joined Hyman Beck as top performers for the month. The systematic group did better than the discretionary group on a risk-adjusted basis.