TTU128: Trend Following for Life ft. Marty Bergin, President of DUNN Capital Management

Today, we are joined by Marty Bergin, President of DUNN Capital Management, for a conversation on how and why they have continued to focus on Trend Following as their core investment strategy. We discuss the challenges of improving upon trend following and if it's possible to deliver it with a high Sharpe Ratio, what differentiates DUNN Capital from other trend followers and how they use research to stay well prepared. We also dig into their approach to trading futures and determining trends and where they see the weaknesses of trend following strategies, why they choose to look at the overall portfolio when managing the risk and why they think portfolio replication can be problematic. We also discuss how they manage risk and why they prefer to reside in the medium to long term when it comes to trend following, how they approach capacity and fees and why they choose to trade using a human touch rather than automated execution, what returns are achievable from trend following and much more.

-----

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.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 Alan on Twitter.

Learn more about DUNN Capital Management

Episode Timestamps:

02:31 - Introduction to DUNN Capital Management

05:02 - Why Trend Following?

07:35 - What differentiates DUNN Capital Management?

12:06 - Hitting the right balance

14:34 - Reflecting on the performance in 2022

18:43 - The speed of systems

22:28 - Their research process

25:36 - Trading futures and determining trends

28:08 - Weaknesses of trend following

29:12 - From individual markets to portfolios

31:23 - What is the right number of markets?

34:24 - The risk of CTA replication

35:57 - Dynamic vs. static position sizing

39:38 - Primary focus when managing risk

41:29 - What is the right lookback period?

43:10 - Their approach to capacity and fees

47:15 - Is the HQ Location an issue?

48:53 - Monitoring trades

53:09 - The role of trend in larger portfolios

59:02 - The cash management process

01:03:44 - Questions to ask a manager as an allocator

01:05:55 - Expectations for 2023

01:07:46 - Thanks for listening

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