Volatility in currency and energy markets created a challenging environment for CTAS so far this year, according to new research from Preqin, leading to significant underperformance for the segment as a whole compared to other alternative asset silos. As of the end of September, the Preqin All-Strategies CTA benchmark had returned -0.04%, compared to gains of +8.04% for the company’s All-Strategies Hedge Fund benchmark. The performance is not uniform, Preqin noted: Trend followers, the largest style group within the CTA sleeve, have lost -1.62% YTD, while option-writing CTAs gained 7.63% through September.