Managed futures gained 2.55% in April according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge. Year-to-date, the Barclay CTA Index is up 2.07%.

"Investor zeal for risk was demonstrated again in April as prices for equities, non-US currencies, and commodities moved higher," says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge "A weakening US dollar and demand from Asia were driving factors."

All eight of Barclay's CTA indices made gains in April. The Barclay Diversified Traders Index advanced 3.46%, Systematic Traders added 3.20%, Currency Traders gained 1.64%, and the Agricultural Traders Index was up 1.07%.

"Although the Reuters-CRB Index increased by more than three percent, the gains resulted primarily from outsized price increases in inflation-linked commodities such as precious metals and energy," says Waksman."Industrial commodities turned in mixed performance for the month with copper losing three percent."

The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which measures performance of the largest CTAs, gained 2.21% in April.