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Ditsch Trading LLC - Discretionary Trading Program



Principal(s): Mark Ditsch & Brian Leith
Strategy: Fundamental / Agricultural
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Statistics & Program Information

Feb Return   7.33% Worst Drawdown (2)    -49.34% Minimum Investment   $100,000
YTD Return   12.27% Losing Streak (3)    -0.62 % AUM (5)   $4,447,500
Annual CROR (1)   7.19 Sharpe Ratio (4)   0.34 Calmar Ratio (6)    0.34
Trading Methodology
100% Discretionary
Style Sub-Categories
Fundamental

Trading Style
25% Trend Following
25% Spread Trading
25% Option Trading
25% Opportunistic
Market Sector
100% Agriculturals
Holding Period
50% Medium Term
50% Short Term
Sector
US
Contracts
Futures
Options

Start Date   Jan-2011 Currency   US Dollar Margin (7)   0
New Money   Yes AUM (5)   $4,447,500 Management Fee    2.00%
Min Investment    $100,000 Annual CROR (1)   7.19 Incentive Fee    20.00%
Fund Minimum    $0 Losing Streak (3)    -0.62 % Other Fees   None
Notional Funds    Yes Worst Drawdown (2)    -49.34 % Avg Comm (8)   $10
NFA Member    Yes Sharpe Ratio (4)    0.34 Max Comm (9)   $10
NFA Number    0423189 Calmar Ratio (6)    0.34 Round Turns (10)    3,120
Starting Date:  Jan-2011 Currency:  US Dollar
Open to New Investors:  Yes Current Assets:  $4,447,500
Open to US Investors:  Yes Annual CROR:  7.19%
Minimum Fund Investment:  $0 Worst Monthly Drawdown:  -49.34
Minimum Managed Account:  $100,000 Current Losing Streak:  -0.62 %
Domocile:   Calmar:  0.34
Subscriptions:  N/A Sharpe Ratio:  0.34
Redemptions:  N/A US Attorney:  Not Listed
Lock Up:  N/A Offshore Attorney:  Not Listed
Hurdle Rate:  N/A Administrator:  Not Listed
Administraton Fee:  0.00% Prime Broker:  Not Listed
Management Fee:  2.00% Auditor:  Not Listed
Incentive Fee:  20.00% NFA Member:  Yes
Other Fees:  None FINRA Member:  No
Other Memberships:  None
Type of Fund:
Domicile:
Strategy:
Track Record Prepared By: N/A
Correlations: AG CTA Index: 0.069              AG Discretionary CTA Index: 0.337             

P - Proprietary Trading Results * C - Client Trading Result * P&C - Combines Client & Proprietary Trading Results (the accounting notes will identify the time frame for each.

1. Rates of Return: Rate of Returns are calculated from the start date of each program. Usually returns are calculated based on the Annual Compounded Rate of Return method. In some cases returns have been calculated on a Non-Compounded basis. This would occur when a Manager trades based on account unit rather than on account equity.

The Annual Compound Rate of Return ("Annual CROR") represents the compounded rate of return or each year or portion thereof presented. It is computed by applying successively respective monthly rate of return for each month beginning with the first month of that period. The Annual Rate of Return ("Annual ROR") is the annualized Mean Return.

2. The Worst Peak-to-Valley Drawdown ("Worst Drawdown") is defined as the greatest cumulative percentage decline in net asset value due to losses sustained by the trading program during any period in which the initial net asset value is not equaled or exceeded by a subsequent asset value.

3. Start & End Dates: Indicates the Start and End Dates of the Worst Peak-to-Valley Drawdown.

4. The Current Losing Streak ("Losing Streak") represents the extent of the Advisor's current drawdown.

5. Annualzied Standard Deviation is one way to look at consistency of returns. It measures the degree by which the monthly returns vary from the average (mean) return.

6. Downside Deviation is a measure of downside volatility. It only considers those monthly performance results that are less than the monthly Minimum Acceptable Rate of Return.

7. The Sharpe Ratio is a risk-adjusted ratio that rewards consistency of returns. Traders are penalized for volatility regardless of whether it is on the up or downside. The Sharpe Ratios is calculated using a 1% risk-free rate of return.

8. The Sortino Ratio is a risk-adjusted ratio. The higher the number the better. Results are dependent upon the Minimum Acceptable Rate of Return (currently set at 5%.

9. The Sterling Ratio is a risk-adjusted return measurement calculated by dividing the Annualized Compound ROR by the Average Yearly Maximum Drawdown less an arbitrary 10%. The Sterling Ratio is normally calculated using the last 36 months of data.

10. The Calmar Ratio represents the historical amount gained for each dollar risked. A higher number is better. Unless otherwise denoted the Calmar Ratio is calculated by dividing the 36 month Compounded ROR by the 36 month Peak to Valley Drawdown. Traders with less than 36 months of data or a negative Calmar Ratio will be indicated by N/A.

11. The Omega Function accounts for the non-normal distributions of returns and takes into account the investor's preferences for loss and gain. Omega is computed directly from the returns distribution and measures the total impact of the moments instead of each one of them individually.

12. Minimum Investment represents the minimum account size.

13. Assets Under Management ("AUM") represents the current nominal assets traded by the Manager.

14. The Number of Winning Months represents the months with positive return.

15. The Number of Losing Months represents the months with negative return.

16. The Percentage of Winning Months represents the % of winning months.

17. Margin to Equity ("Margin") represents the average margin as a percent of a fully funded account.

18. Round Turns per Million ("Round Turns") represent the average number of round turns that would be generated in a $1,000,000 account.

19. Average Commission ("Avg Comm") represents the average commission rate of the composite track record. A higher or lower commission rate would increase or decrease the performance accordingly.

20. Maximum Commisions ("Max Comm") is the Maximum Round Turn Rate allowable by the Manager.

Trading Description, Risk Strategy & Background

Ditsch Trading, LLC is a registered Commodity Trading Advisor that began January 1, 2011. The program is traded by Mr. Mark Ditsch. The Advisor suspended operations in 2013 when he went to work for Noble Agri where he led their North American expansion. Mr. Ditsch garnered the attention of Noble Agri near the end of 2013, joining the firm he opened the company's North American headquarters in Chicago, Il. Mr. Ditsch was responsible for the expansion of the firm's proprietary trading desk and led the initiative to grow their North American operations. Before returning to Ditsch Trading, Mark was the firm's Global Head of Proprietary Trading.

The trading program was reopened in December 2015. The primary focus of the trading program is on agricultural commodity markets with particular emphasis on soybean, soybean products, and corn futures and options, but does occasionally trade other markets. Mr. Ditsch gained a thorough understanding of markets through his time at Noble Agri and long before trading physical grain and oilseed markets in the US. He began his career with Consolidated Grain and Barge, a leading US grain and transportation company and then with Zen-noh Grain Corporation. At Zen-Noh, Mr. Ditsch eventually rose to the position of Trading Manager for all commodities.

Mr. Ditsch's experiences at Noble Agri, as well as his other roles, helped him further understand the world of agricultural trade fundamentals and their effect on the market. His analysis includes constant monitoring of US and world weather, shifts in commodity consumption patterns, political issues, currency relationships and trends, and other market movements. Mr. Ditsch uses this analysis to develop trading strategies that may involve long or short futures positions as well as intra- and inter-market spread positions. Options are frequently used to manage risk exposure or generate additional opportunities. Technical or chart analysis is generally used only to help determine entrance and exit points, as Mr. Ditsch believes that fundamentals ultimately determine price movement.

Mr. Ditsch began his career in 1996 with Consolidated Grain and Barge (CGB), a leading US grain and transportation company. After spending some time learning the essentials of cash grain merchandising at a river elevator in southern Illinois, Mr. Ditsch moved to Mandeville, Louisiana to trade the export grain market for one of CGB's parent companies, Zen-noh Grain Corporation (ZGC). ZGC is one of the largest grain exporting companies in the US. He initially managed the sorghum, corn, and soybean trading for the company and was named the Trading Manager for all commodities in 2006.

In addition to cash and futures trading, he focused much of his time on risk management, logistics, and world supply and demand analysis. This was supplemented with many trips to China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, and other key destination markets. These travels were very important in helping to develop key relationships with world grain and soybean users. Mr. Ditsch continues to travel overseas to many of these destinations in order to help maintain these important market relationships.

In 2007, Mark moved to Chicago to work with the LaSalle Group as a futures trader and analyst, focusing his analytical work on the soybean and meal markets. He was approved by the NFA as an Associated Person of Rosenthal Collins Group, LLC in 2007. He began trading futures for his own account, and in 2008 was granted NFA approval to trade discretionary accounts.

Mr. Ditsch took his experience and began his discretionary trading program, Ditsch Trading, LLC, in January 2011. Mark traded discretionary accounts for almost three years before deciding to return to the corporate side of the sector; he joined Noble-Agri as their Global Head of Proprietary Trading. This position helped to hone the trading skills Mr. Ditsch has developed over the year and widened his network giving him more insight to the various ripples throughout all channels of the industry.

During the winter of 2015, Mark returned to the managed capital sector of the industry and with the help of the Nesvick Trading Group reopened Ditsch Trading, LLC. Mark Ditsch holds a B.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Nebraska and an M.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois. Mr. Ditsch grew up on a crop farm in Western Nebraska and still owns farmland in the area today.

Accounting Notes:

In September of 2013 Mark Ditsch closed his trading program due to his joining of Noble Group. Mr. Ditsch left Noble in November 2015 to reopen his trading program, Ditsch Trading, and began trading accounts for the program again in December 2015.

Performance

There are no Trading Results from October 2013 through November 2015. During this time Mark Ditsch was employed by Noble Group.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov DecROR Max DD
2024 4.60% 7.33%   12.27% 0%
2023 -1.40% -0.47% -1.27% 1.47% -2.19% 0.42% -0.38% 2.20% -1.19% -3.94% -6.07% 4.19% -8.67% -12.35%
2022 6.06% 13.45% -0.53% -1.07% -2.74% -0.57% -1.20% 0.47% 2.03% 3.97% -1.46% -1.63% 16.88% -5.98%
2021 6.86% 4.72% 1.62% 11.29% -8.97% -2.58% -0.34% -1.27% 1.81% -0.92% -0.99% -1.52% 8.61% -14.18%
2020 -1.55% 0.46% 0.20% -0.40% 0.78% 0.75% -1.05% 8.98% 4.65% 2.86% 9.51% 17.12% 49.21% -1.55%
2019 -1.35% -1.68% 0.85% 1.29% 3.19% -3.72% -1.62% -3.33% -0.23% -1.40% -6.39% 3.28% -10.96% -15.68%


Annual Performance

Years201120122013201420152016
ROR-19.91%81.35%13.30%0.00%0.81%-3.13%
Max DD-21.58%-40.83%-15.40%0.00%0.00%-19.65%

Years201720182019202020212022
ROR3.22%-13.05%-10.96%49.21%8.61%16.88%
Max DD-2.63%-16.60%-15.68%-1.55%-14.18%-5.98%

Years20232024 YTD
ROR-8.67%12.27%
Max DD-12.35%0.00%



PAST PERFORMANCE DOES NOT GUARANTEE FUTURE SUCCESS. THERE IS A RISK OF LOSS IN FUTURES TRADING.

VAMI, Assets under Management & Worst Drawdown

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Monthly Returns

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RISK DISCLOSURE

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS.

THIS MATTER IS INTENDED AS A SOLICITATION FOR MANAGED FUTURES. THE RISK OF TRADING COMMODITY FUTURES, OPTIONS AND/OR FOREIGN EXCHANGE ('FOREX') IS SUBSTANTIAL. THE HIGH DEGREE OF LEVERAGE ASSOCIATED WITH COMMODITY FUTURES, OPTIONS AND FOREX CAN WORK AGAINST YOU AS WELL AS FOR YOU. THIS HIGH DEGREE OF LEVERAGE CAN RESULT IN SUBSTANTIAL LOSSES, AS WELL AS GAINS. YOU SHOULD THEREFORE CAREFULLY CONSIDER WHETHER SUCH TRADING IS SUITABLE FOR YOU IN LIGHT OF YOUR FINANCIAL CONDITION. IF YOU ARE UNSURE YOU SHOULD SEEK PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. AN INVESTOR MUST READ AND UNDERSTAND THE CTA’S CURRENT DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT BEFORE INVESTING. THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES OF PROFIT NO MATTER WHO IS MANAGING YOUR MONEY.

PAST PERFORMANCE DOES NOT GUARANTEE FUTURE SUCCESS. IN SOME CASES MANAGED ACCOUNTS ARE CHARGED SUBSTANTIAL COMMISSIONS AND ADVISORY FEES. THOSE ACCOUNTS SUBJECT TO THESE CHARGES, MAY NEED TO MAKE SUBSTANTIAL TRADING PROFITS JUST TO AVOID DEPLETION OF THEIR ASSETS. EACH COMMODITY TRADING ADVISOR ("CTA") IS REQUIRED BY THE COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION ("CFTC") TO ISSUE TO PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS A RISK DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT OUTLINING THESE FEES, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND OTHER ASSOCIATED RISKS. A HARD COPY OF THESE RISK DISCLOSURE DOCUMENTS ARE READILY AVAILABLE BY CLICKING ON EACH CTA'S "REQUEST DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT" BUTTON.

THE FULL RISK OF COMMODITY FUTURES, OPTIONS AND FOREX TRADING CAN NOT BE ADDRESSED IN THIS RISK DISCLOSURE STATEMENT. NO CONSIDERATION TO INVEST SHOULD BE MADE WITHOUT THOROUGHLY READING THE DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT OF EACH OF THE CTAS IN WHICH YOU MAY HAVE AN INTEREST. REQUESTING A DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT PLACES YOU UNDER NO OBLIGATION AND EACH DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED AT NO COST. THE CFTC HAS NOT PASSED UPON THE MERITS OF PARTICIPATING IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS NOR ON THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE DISCLOSURE DOCUMENTS. OTHER DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS ARE REQUIRED TO BE PROVIDED TO YOU BEFORE AN ACCOUNT MAY BE OPENED FOR YOU.

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS SHOULD NOT BASE THEIR DECISION ON INVESTING IN THIS TRADING PROGRAM SOLELY ON THE PAST PERFORMANCE PRESENTED. ADDITIONALLY, IN MAKING AN INVESTMENT DECISION, PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS MUST ALSO RELY ON THEIR OWN EXAMINATION OF THE PERSON OR ENTITY MAKING THE TRADING DECISIONS AND THE TERMS OF THE ADVISORY AGREEMENT INCLUDING THE MERITS AND RISKS INVOLVED.

AUTUMN GOLD CTA INDEXES ARE NON-INVESTABLE INDEXES COMPRISED OF THE CLIENT PERFORMANCE OF CTA PROGRAMS INCLUDED IN THE AUTUMN GOLD DATABASE AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE COMPLETE UNIVERSE OF CTAS. INVESTORS SHOULD NOTE THAT IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO INVEST IN THESE INDEXES.