CTAs, or commodity trading advisers, and other computer-powered hedge funds posted mixed results during the stock market’s huge sell-off in August.
However, this does not necessarily mean funds designed to zig when the stock market zags failed to deliver. These so-called trend followers, which posted big gains in the 2008 market meltdown, really need to be judged over a longer period since many of their models are not designed to abruptly reverse when a trend quickly changes direction.