Despite trading setbacks, the managed futures trust grew its capitalization to nearly $619 million on strong investor inflows and secured an indefinite operating term.

March 18, 2026

Campbell Fund Trust, the Delaware-based speculative commodity pool managed by Campbell & Company, LP, reported a challenging fiscal year 2025 marked by negative returns across all four of its unit series. The annual report, signed on March 17, 2026, reveals a year in which interest rate and foreign exchange losses overwhelmed gains from equities and commodities, reversing course from a strong 2024 performance.

Performance Overview

The Trust posted returns of negative 4.64 percent for Series A, negative 4.34 percent for Series B, negative 3.91 percent for Series D, and negative 3.53 percent for Series W for the year ended December 31, 2025. Those figures stand in sharp contrast to the prior year, when the Trust delivered robust gains of 16.85 percent, 17.22 percent, 18.10 percent, and 18.99 percent for those same series, respectively.

Despite the negative performance, the Trust’s aggregate capitalization grew from approximately $576.1 million at the end of 2024 to roughly $618.9 million at the close of 2025. That increase was driven largely by net new subscriptions, with total capital additions of approximately $113 million outpacing redemptions of about $39.7 million. Series D saw the most significant growth in outstanding units, nearly doubling from around 22,377 to more than 42,313 units. As of year-end, the Trust had a total of 3,491 unitholders across all series.

Trading Results by Sector

The Trust’s gross trading result for 2025 was a loss of 3.23 percent before commissions and fees. Interest rate positions generated the steepest losses at 12.17 percent, followed by foreign exchange trading at 3.23 percent. Those losses were partially offset by gains of 8.22 percent from equity indices and 4.28 percent from commodities. Credit positions contributed a modest loss of 0.33 percent.

Monthly commentary paints a picture of a volatile and whipsaw-prone year. January started positively, with profits from fixed income, commodity, and equity holdings. However, the Trust experienced losses in six of the remaining eleven months. April was particularly painful, as larger-than-expected tariff announcements from the Trump administration sent shockwaves through multiple asset classes. Long energy, stock, and credit positions suffered amid what became known as the Liberation Day tariffs, though interest rate holdings provided significant offsetting gains as bond prices moved dramatically.

The tariff-driven volatility continued to define the trading environment through spring and summer. May saw fixed income lead losses as global bond prices fell amid U.S. deficit concerns and trade negotiations. The foreign exchange sector proved especially difficult to navigate, with the U.S. dollar experiencing sharp reversals that caught trend-following models off guard throughout the year.

Fees, Expenses, and Net Income

The Trust earned approximately $25.3 million in interest income, down slightly from $25.7 million in 2024. Total expenses rose to roughly $25 million from $20.9 million the prior year, driven by higher management fees of $12.5 million, increased sales commissions of $10.5 million, and performance fees of approximately $574,000 — the first meaningful performance fees since 2022. The net result was a loss of roughly $28.4 million, compared to net income of $85.4 million in 2024.

Key Corporate Developments

A major development during the year was the elimination of the Trust’s previously fixed termination date of December 31, 2025. In September 2025, unitholders approved an amended trust agreement that allows the Trust to continue indefinitely, subject only to specific triggering events such as the withdrawal or insolvency of the managing operator, the impossibility of trading, or dissolution by court order. This change ensures the long-running fund — which traces its trading operations back to January 1972 — can continue operating without interruption.

Campbell Fund Trust recently disclosed a private securities sale in late February 2026, raising over $5.1 million across three unit series, suggesting continued investor interest heading into the new year.

The annual report also highlighted the November 2024 ownership transition at Campbell & Company, in which majority control passed from founder D. Keith Campbell to the firm’s senior executives and employees. Dr. Kevin D. Cole, who has served as CEO and Chief Investment Officer since 2022, was simultaneously appointed Chairman of the Board. The report noted that the transition was long-planned and did not affect day-to-day operations.

Risk Profile and Portfolio Composition

The Trust’s aggregate Value at Risk stood at 1.22 percent as of year-end 2025, down from 1.71 percent at the end of 2024, reflecting somewhat less concentrated portfolio positioning. The Trust continued to trade across a highly diversified set of global markets, including futures, forward currency contracts, and centrally cleared credit default and interest rate swaps spanning commodities, equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, and credit.

The fixed income portfolio, managed by PNC Capital Advisors and held in custody at Northern Trust Company, totaled approximately $405.3 million in fair value at year-end, representing about 65 percent of net asset value. Holdings were spread across U.S. Treasury bills, commercial paper, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities, and bank deposits.

Deloitte & Touche LLP, the Trust’s auditor since 2005, issued a clean opinion on the financial statements and identified no critical audit matters. Management concluded that internal controls over financial reporting were effective as assessed under the COSO 2013 framework.

Looking ahead, the Trust faces the same challenges that defined 2025 — a global trading environment shaped by tariff uncertainty, shifting central bank policies, and heightened market volatility — conditions that can both create opportunities and generate significant losses for systematic trading strategies like those employed by the Campbell Managed Futures Portfolio.