OI17: The End of the Bull Market: What’s Next for Equities? ft. Asim Ghaffar
In this episode, Moritz Seibert speaks with Asim Ghaffar, the founder and CIO of AG Capital, a Boston-based macro hedge fund. Asim explains why he believes insourcing rather than outsourcing the organizational processes of running a hedge fund business is critical and how it can add long-term value to the business. He also describes why sales and branding are key components to a successful investment management business, and how AG Capital connects with clients and prospective investors. In the second part of the conversation, Asam and Moritz speak about AG Capital’s style of trading, how they position size, why they take concentrated positions, how their methods differ from those of systematic trend following funds, and what their current long-term and short-term investment themes are, touching on gold, Bitcoin, copper, natural gas, and some other markets.-----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 Portfolio” here.Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.comAnd 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 Moritz on Twitter.Episode TimeStamps:02:13 - Introduction to Asim Ghaffar and AG Capital06:48 - What defines a great hedge fund?12:13 - How do you find clients as a hedge fund?18:32 - Creating world class in-house operations25:32 - Ghaffar's framework for building portfolios35:05 - How Ghaffar differs from a classical trend follower39:16 - Why Ghaffar enforces a fixed number of positions41:40 - What is so cool about stocks?46:16 - Why Ghaffar sometimes decreases an exposure51:36 - How Ghaffar approaches gold54:05 - Why AG Capital stays away from Bitcoin01:01:54 - Is China actually more democratic than the US?Copyright © 2025 – CMC AG – All Rights Reserved----PLUS: Whenever you're ready... here are 3 ways I can
2 Jul 1h 9min
SI354: Everyone’s Different. Until They’re Not ft. Rob Carver
With markets drifting and conviction thinning, Rob Carver joins Niels to take stock of a moment that feels suspended... not quite crisis, not quite calm. They discuss why recent rule changes around bank capital and crypto assets may carry more weight than headlines suggest, and what falling shipping volumes might be whispering about global demand. Rob breaks down the math of drawdowns, the tension between Kelly sizing and real-world volatility, and how systematic managers can fool themselves into thinking they’re diversified. It’s a conversation about structure, discipline, and why most edges today come from avoiding mistakes rather than discovering secrets.-----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 Portfolio” here.Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.comAnd 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 Rob on Twitter.Episode TimeStamps: 01:07 - What has caught out attention recently?01:23 - Rob and Niels have done the unthinkable02:59 - Fed is rolling back important capital rules05:22 - What the shipping industry reveals about the economy07:33 - Industry performance update16:00 - Q1, William: Is it possible to apply the concept of decomposing returns in commodity trading?27:24 - Q2, Raphael: About estimating the full sharpe and Kelly of trend following37:03 - Q3, Dom: Has Rob come across any useful frameworks, research, or resources for designing systems that intentionally combine systematic structure with discretionary judgment?41:52 - Are all managers the same, although we all claim to be different?52:26 - Why are bond...
28 Jun 1h 13min
GM84: What Everyone Saw, but No One Priced ft. Bob Elliott
Bob Elliott joins Cem Karsan and Niels Kaastrup-Larsen for a conversation about what happens when strong economic data masks a deeper structural shift. The income engine still runs, but tariffs, labor scarcity, and immigration limits are quietly rewiring the system. Inflation may not fall the way people expect. Profit margins may not hold. And capital may start flowing away from the US for the first time in a generation. This isn’t a cycle call. It’s a question of what kind of economy we are becoming—and whether portfolios built for the past can survive what’s coming.-----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 Portfolio” here.Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.comAnd 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 Cem on Twitter.Follow Bob on Twitter.Episode TimeStamps: 02:58 - Revisiting the Income Driven Expansion12:30 - Inflation Dynamics and Economic Policy15:31 - The Dynamics of Labor and Immigration27:58 - Strategic Decoupling and Its Implications32:04 - The Economic Implications of Manufacturing in China42:13 - Economic Growth and Market Dynamics48:28 - The Evolving Landscape of Investment Strategies53:25 - Understanding Alpha Strategies and Portfolio Diversification01:01:10 - The Dynamics of Hedge Fund Strategies and Correlation01:09:34 - Global Macro Trends and Financial DecouplingCopyright © 2025 – CMC AG – All Rights Reserved----PLUS: Whenever you're ready... here are 3 ways I can help
25 Jun 1h 15min
SI353: You Don’t Buy It for Returns. You Buy It Because It Works! ft. Yoav Git
Some of the most effective portfolio components may generate little or no return on their own. In this episode, Niels Kaastrup-Larsen and Yoav Git explore that discomfort - why allocators often overlook strategies that offer the most structural value. Through a series of new research papers, they examine how negative correlation, volatility, and capital efficiency can outweigh standalone performance, and why trend following continues to challenge conventional assumptions. It’s a conversation about construction over conviction, contribution over headline returns, and the gap between what improves a portfolio and what investors are willing to own.-----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 Portfolio” here.Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.comAnd 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 Yoav on LinkedIn.Episode TimeStamps:00:13 - Introduction and latest update07:57 - Trend Following score card12:38 - Latest paper from R.G. Niederhoffer26:45 - Latest insights from Quantica Capital36:55 - Review of Soc Gen's latest report on the state of the CTA Industry44:52 - The Science and Practice of Trend-following Systems paper by Artur SeppResources discussed in this Episode:LINK SI353: From Tariffs to TrendsLINK SI353: Keeping up with the Trend-FollowersLINK SI353: The Science & Practice of Trend-Following SystemsCopyright © 2025 – CMC...
21 Jun 1h 8min
GM83: The Risk We Forgot to Price ft. Barry Eichengreen
Barry Eichengreen joins Alan Dunne for a clear-eyed look at a system losing its anchors. The dollar’s standing, long insulated by trust and habit, now faces a different kind of test... one shaped less by challengers abroad than by fractures at home. They explore how rising debt, political entropy, and institutional strain are converging in ways that markets are only beginning to price. From the quiet retreat of safe haven flows to the uneasy future of central bank independence, this is a conversation about slow shifts with fast consequences, and what happens when credibility, not currency, becomes the liability.-----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 Portfolio” here.Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.comAnd 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 Alan on Twitter.Follow Barry on Twitter.Episode TimeStamps: 00:09 - Introduction to Barry Eichengreen03:51 - The Future of the Dollar: Concerns and Predictions14:29 - Fiscal Challenges and Policy Responses33:04 - Analyzing Economic Policies and Their Impacts49:18 - Global Economic Perspectives: Trade Wars and Currency Alternatives56:46 - The Future of Global Currency SystemsCopyright © 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...
18 Jun 1h 1min
SI352: Trend Systems Under Strain ft. Nick Baltas
Nick Baltas is back with Niels for a conversation that sits at the intersection of technology, uncertainty, and discipline. As AI-generated data floods the system and market reversals grow sharper, the challenge isn’t just strategy design — it’s deciding what still counts as signal. They explore how systematic managers are rethinking volatility targets, why certain constraints persist in institutional portfolios, and what recent underperformance may actually be revealing. This episode is less about solutions than about orientation: how to stay aligned when the tools evolve faster than the terrain, and when conviction must coexist with doubt.-----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 Portfolio” here.Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.comAnd 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 Nick on Twitter.Episode TimeStamps:00:01 - Introduction to Systematic Investing02:11 - The Impact of AI and Machine Learning on Data Analysis07:05 - The Impact of AI on Education and Examination Policies12:06 - Transitioning Perspectives on Democracy and Markets21:49 - Dynamic Volatility Targeting in Portfolio Management24:24 - Exploring Volatility and Leverage29:50 - Understanding Investor Behavior and Market Dynamics36:29 - Exploring Investment Constraints and Strategies45:04 - Rethinking Investment Constraints49:36 - Strategic Allocations and Market Timing56:11 - Market Dynamics and Trend Following01:00:09 - The Evolution of Systematic InvestingCopyright © 2025 – CMC AG – All Rights...
14 Jun 1h 3min
UGO03: This Isn’t 2008. That’s the Problem ft. Benn Eifert
Back on the Cboe floor, Cem Karsan sits down with Benn Eifert to trace the fault lines shaping today’s volatility regime. They dig into why market structure, not just macro, is driving outcomes... from the reflexive cycles of implied vol to the growing influence of structured product flows and zero-day options. With correlations breaking down and dispersion rising, Benn makes the case that path matters more than magnitude. It’s a conversation about what happens when liquidity fragments, when the Fed can’t step in, and when legacy playbooks stop working. Quietly technical, deeply contextual, this one rewards a careful listen.-----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 Portfolio” here.Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.comAnd 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 Cem on Twitter.Episode TimeStamps: 00:11 - Introduction... setting the stage03:01 - Understanding Options and Market Dynamics09:47 - Market Dynamics and the Role of Administration11:41 - Market Volatility and Structural Changes in Trading19:00 - The Impact of Structural Changes on Market Volume26:13 - Understanding Market Dynamics and Asset Allocation30:23 - The Impact of Interest Rates on Investment Strategies34:21 - Understanding Zero DTE Options and Their Market Impact39:50 - Economic Outlook: Tariffs and Interest RatesCopyright © 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...
11 Jun 45min
SI351: The Two Tribes of Trend ft. Richard Brennan
As trend followers push through one of the toughest environments in years, Rich and Niels unpack what’s actually driving the pain. They draw a sharp line between two camps in the industry - those who focus on standalone market behavior and those who manage trend as a portfolio-level phenomenon, and explain why that distinction now matters more than ever. From the ripple effects of tariff policy to the quiet fragility in institutional positioning, this episode traces how structural shifts are colliding with legacy assumptions. Also on the table: AI’s growing role in model development, the hidden costs of bad data, and what it really takes to build a resilient, scalable process in a world where noise is cheap and conviction is rare.-----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 Portfolio” here.Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.comAnd 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:00:13 - Introduction to Systematic Investing03:55 - The Shift Towards AI in Trading11:25 - The Rise of Idiosyncratic Trend Following Post-202021:42 - The Impact of Recent Market Dynamics25:39 - The Rise of Retail Trading in Futures34:09 - The Panama Method of Historical Adjustments42:32 - Understanding Backtesting and Data Integrity in Trading Models47:36 - Navigating Capital Constraints in Trend Following55:14 - Understanding AI in Trading Strategies01:00:14 - The Challenges of AI in Trading and Strategy Development01:04:44 - The Impact of AI on HumanityCopyright © 2025 – CMC AG – All Rights...
7 Jun 1h 8min
