Key Takeaways
- • Lynx Asset Management's two newer strategies—Lynx Constellation and Lynx Systematic Macro—both launched during unfavorable market conditions but have delivered strong recoveries, marking important anniversaries in October 2025 after initially difficult performance periods.
- • Lynx Constellation, which deployed models previously embedded in the flagship Lynx Program since 2011 without a negative annual return, suffered its first loss during the COVID-19 pandemic but rebounded with 18.4% returns in 2022, 10.5% in 2023, and 9.9% in 2024, continuing to outperform in 2025 despite industry headwinds for CTAs.
- • Lynx Systematic Macro delivered 22.5% returns in 2024 and 4% year-to-date in 2025 after a weaker 2023, approaching its three-year anniversary with demonstrated conviction in the strategy following an initially uninspiring launch period.
- • David Jansson, CIO at Lynx Asset Management, attributes both strategies' turnarounds to rigorous re-examination and revalidation of each program's underlying architecture following their early-stage challenges.
Summary
Lynx Asset Management has successfully navigated an extended turnaround at two of its newer product offerings. Lynx Constellation and Lynx Systematic Macro, both launched during periods of significant market dislocation, have reversed their early underperformance and are approaching meaningful anniversaries in October 2025 with solid track records behind them.
Constellation's inception coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating immediate headwinds for the strategy. Notably, the underlying models had been deployed within Lynx's flagship trend-following program since 2011 without producing a negative annual return in aggregate until the pandemic disrupted historical market relationships. After that initial setback, the strategy posted consecutive gains of 18.4 percent in 2022, 10.5 percent in 2023, and 9.9 percent in 2024. The strategy has maintained its relative strength into 2025, a year that has otherwise proven challenging for the broader managed futures industry.
Lynx Systematic Macro followed a different but similarly difficult early path. While not as acute as Constellation's COVID-shock experience, the strategy's early performance was "uninspiring," according to David Jansson, CIO at Lynx Asset Management, though it tracked broadly in line with industry benchmarks during that period. The strategy has since recovered, delivering 22.5 percent returns in 2024 and posting a 4 percent gain year-to-date as it approaches its three-year anniversary.
Jansson emphasizes that both strategies' recoveries stemmed from methodical internal review rather than market tailwinds alone. "The early challenges forced us to examine and reevaluate every aspect of each strategy to validate our conviction in what we had built," he noted. This disciplined reassessment appears to have paid dividends, with both programs now demonstrating the durability required to attract and retain institutional capital in an increasingly competitive alternatives market.
Constellation's inception coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating immediate headwinds for the strategy. Notably, the underlying models had been deployed within Lynx's flagship trend-following program since 2011 without producing a negative annual return in aggregate until the pandemic disrupted historical market relationships. After that initial setback, the strategy posted consecutive gains of 18.4 percent in 2022, 10.5 percent in 2023, and 9.9 percent in 2024. The strategy has maintained its relative strength into 2025, a year that has otherwise proven challenging for the broader managed futures industry.
Lynx Systematic Macro followed a different but similarly difficult early path. While not as acute as Constellation's COVID-shock experience, the strategy's early performance was "uninspiring," according to David Jansson, CIO at Lynx Asset Management, though it tracked broadly in line with industry benchmarks during that period. The strategy has since recovered, delivering 22.5 percent returns in 2024 and posting a 4 percent gain year-to-date as it approaches its three-year anniversary.
Jansson emphasizes that both strategies' recoveries stemmed from methodical internal review rather than market tailwinds alone. "The early challenges forced us to examine and reevaluate every aspect of each strategy to validate our conviction in what we had built," he noted. This disciplined reassessment appears to have paid dividends, with both programs now demonstrating the durability required to attract and retain institutional capital in an increasingly competitive alternatives market.
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