SI382: The End of Globalization, the Rise of Trends ft. Richard Brennan

SI382: The End of Globalization, the Rise of Trends ft. Richard Brennan

The new year opens with a shift hiding in plain sight. As globalization recedes and the world fractures into spheres of influence, Rich argues this isn’t just a political story - it’s a structural shift that favors trend following. In this episode, he challenges the illusion of control baked into most trading systems: why backtests offer comfort, not readiness; why precision breeds fragility; and why the future isn’t something to predict, but something being built in real time. This is a conversation about trading with humility, designing for persistence, and letting go of the need to know. The signal is now.

-----

50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE

-----


Follow Niels on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or via the TTU website.

IT’s TRUE ? – most CIO’s read 50+ books each year – get your FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide to the Best Investment Books ever written here.

And you can get a free copy of my latest book “Ten Reasons to Add Trend Following to Your Portfoliohere.

Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.

Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.com

And please share this episode with a like-minded friend and leave an honest Rating & Review on iTunes or Spotify so more people can discover the podcast.

Follow Rich on Twitter.

Episode TimeStamps:

00:00 - Opening and the start of 2026

03:21 - A fragmented global order and what it means for trend following

08:55 - Why coordination fades and imbalances persist

12:41 - Early market signals and unusual positioning

14:34 - 2025 in review, concentration and recovery

17:36 - Familiar pain and familiar payoffs in trend following

23:00 - Timeframes, diversification, and ensemble thinking

28:37 - Brakes and acceleration, trading the now

40:58 - The future as unfinished, not hidden

49:54 - Prediction versus participation

53:53 - Optimization, comfort, and hidden fragility

01:02:49 - Predetermined response and process control

01:05:30 - Closing reflections and looking ahead

Copyright © 2025 – CMC AG – All Rights Reserved

----

PLUS: Whenever you're ready... here are 3 ways I can help you in your investment Journey:

1. eBooks that cover key topics that you need to know about

In my eBooks, I put together some key discoveries and things I have learnt during the more than 3 decades I have worked in the Trend Following industry, which I hope you will find useful. Click Here

2. Daily Trend Barometer and Market Score

One of the things I’m really proud of, is the fact that I have managed to published the Trend Barometer and Market Score each day for more than a decade...as these tools are really good at describing the environment for trend following managers as well as giving insights into the general positioning of a trend following strategy! Click Here

3. Other Resources that can help you

And if you are hungry for more useful resources from the trend following world...check out some precious resources that I have found over the years to be really valuable. Click Here

Privacy Policy

Disclaimer

Episoder(914)

GM88: Cycles of Promise and Pain: Argentina’s Unfinished Lesson ft. Nicolas Dujovne

GM88: Cycles of Promise and Pain: Argentina’s Unfinished Lesson ft. Nicolas Dujovne

Argentina’s history is one of recurring promises and painful resets. Nicolas Dujovne has lived that cycle from the inside, serving as Finance Minister during a rare attempt at fiscal repair before mar...

8 Okt 202558min

SI368: Valuation Has Left the Room ft. Cem Karsan & Alan Dunne

SI368: Valuation Has Left the Room ft. Cem Karsan & Alan Dunne

Cem Karsan joins Alan Dunne to chart a market running on more than just momentum. Beneath the surface: a structural liquidity engine, political incentives aligned with asset reflation, and a surge in ...

4 Okt 20251h 5min

IL42: Redefining Sovereignty in a Borderless Financial System ft. Zoe Liu

IL42: Redefining Sovereignty in a Borderless Financial System ft. Zoe Liu

China’s trade surplus with the US remains stubbornly large, but its appetite for Treasuries is fading. So where are the dollars going, and what does that say about the country’s evolving financial str...

1 Okt 20251h 3min

SI367: Portfolio Design in a Distorted World ft. Andrew Beer

SI367: Portfolio Design in a Distorted World ft. Andrew Beer

Equities are up more than 50% since the April lows, yet the world feels anything but stable. In this episode, Niels Kaastrup-Larsen and Andrew Beer examine the widening disconnect between market behav...

27 Sep 20251h 7min

UGO06: Democratizing the Asymmetric Trade ft. Vlad Tenev

UGO06: Democratizing the Asymmetric Trade ft. Vlad Tenev

Vlad Tenev, CEO of Robinhood joins Cem Karsan at the Hood Summit in Las Vegas, for a timely conversation about the shifting edge in markets. From memories of hyperinflation in Bulgaria to unlocking t...

24 Sep 202541min

SI366: The Strategy Didn’t Fail. The Investors Did. ft. Rob Carver

SI366: The Strategy Didn’t Fail. The Investors Did. ft. Rob Carver

Rob Carver is back from summer break for a conversation that moves between past and present through the lens of lived experience. Starting with the anniversary of Lehman’s collapse, Rob and Niels unpa...

20 Sep 20251h 2min

ALO31: What If the Illiquidity Premium Was Never Real? ft. Richard Tomlinson

ALO31: What If the Illiquidity Premium Was Never Real? ft. Richard Tomlinson

Richard Tomlinson joins Alan Dunne for a conversation shaped by experience, not theory. As CIO of LPPI, Richard is responsible for £27 billion in pension assets - but what stands out here is the clari...

17 Sep 20251h 3min

SI365: Design or Luck: Why Trend Following Results Diverge ft. Katy Kaminski

SI365: Design or Luck: Why Trend Following Results Diverge ft. Katy Kaminski

Katy Kaminski returns to explore why results in trend following rarely look alike, even when the rules sound the same. Using fresh research from Man Group and Quantica, she and Niels trace the fingerp...

13 Sep 202555min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
pengesnakk
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
finansredaksjonen
pengepodden-2
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
utbytte
rss-sunn-okonomi
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
liberal-halvtime
lederpodden
rss-markedspuls-2
okonomiamatorene
rss-politisk-preik