How one trend-following fund outperformed rivals by bringing humans back into the decision-making process

Graham Capital’s Tactical Trend Fund gained 27% through the end of August, and the manager expects another “solid month” in September, according to CIO Tom Feng. The fund is a systematic, trend-following strategy that typically uses price-action signals, designed to reduce emotional and model-bias effects. But Feng said performance this year also benefited from selective human input: adding a profit-taking and stop-loss approach rather than applying signals blindly. Based on Society General tabulations and HFR category data, the 27% return outpaced commodity-fund peers (+10%) and systematic diversified peers (just over +3%) over the same period. The firm also added new model components, including tactical trends and a carry signal.