
ALO04: Insights from the Queens Bank CIO ft. Alan Higgins
On today’s episode, Alan Dunne is joined by Alan Higgins, the CIO and Chief Market Strategise of Coutts UK, also known as the Queens Bank, to discuss sound ways to invest in today’s environment, Alan’s interest at an early age in how to earn a risk premium, being a 60/40 investor and how the strategy will evolve, asset management vs. wealth management, distressed debt investing, behavioural biases, inflation, equity and interest rates, as well as the Yale Approach finishing off with some book recommendations on asset allocation and investing.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:What the 60/40 portfolio will look like in the next decadeThe surprise of markets ability to trendThe value of Risk Mitigation, but how it’s not enoughInsights to the inflationary period in the UK under Nigel LawsonWhy this time feels differentLessons from the 1987 Crash-----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 Alan Higgins on LinkedIn.Episode TimeStamps: 00:00 - Intro03:05 - Alan’s background and current role04:44 - Risk premium and fixed income24:33 - Setbacks and drawdowns26:45 - Inflation35:06 - Interest rates, bonds and dividends43:22 - Asset allocation and portfolio construction46:18 - Alan’s role at Eighteen48 Partners48:33...
2 Mar 20221h 3min

SI181: The Power of Trend Following ft. Richard Brennan
Richard Brennan joins us today to discuss the power of Trend Following during periods of heightened uncertainty, Trend Following applied to the ESG space, how endogenous price shocks cause longer-term trends, the new Top Traders Monthly Trend Following report, shorter-term Trend Following versus longer-term, and how ‘buy the dip’ investors are likely unprepared for sustained underperformance in stocks.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:Why now might be the best time to be invested in Trend Following strategiesHow systematic investing can be applied to the ESG spaceThe cause of longer-term price trendsThe Top Traders Monthly Trend Following reportThe best lookback period for Trend Following modelsThe need to diversify away from the ‘buy the dip’ mentality-----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:00:00 – Intro03:49 – Macro recap from Niels06:40 – Weekly review of performance16:35 – Thoughts on Niels, Rich & Jerrys’ LinkedIn conversation with Harold De Boer of Transtrend23:16 – Q1; Frank : How do you see Trend Following strategies fitting into the ESG space?31:43 – Why we developed the Top Traders Monthly...
27 Feb 20221h 23min

ALO03: Lessons from a $25 billion CIO ft. Elizabeth Burton
Alan Dunne is joined today by Elizabeth Burton to discuss managing a public fund versus a private fund, the challenges to those invested in the traditional 60 / 40 portfolio, the current outlook for inflation, performing above expectations, how to re-position a portfolio for higher expected inflation, fixed income versus real assets, categorising asset classes effectively, the limits of mean variance optimisation, using historical perspectives as an input into current decision-making, difficulties in the manager selection process, and how to simplify complex ideas in order to communicate more efficiently.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:The outlook for inflationAchieving high performance consistentlyHow to re-allocate a portfolio accordinglyMean variance optimisationWhether this time is differentSelecting the right managerSimplifying complexity for better understandingFollow 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 Elizabeth on LinkedIn.-----Episode TimeStamps: 00:00 - Intro03:30 - Elizabeth’s background and history in the investment world04:55 - Elizabeth’s perspective on today’s markets06:52 - Managing a public fund versus a private fund08:14 - Performing above expectations09:38 - The current outlook for inflation11:31 - How to re-position a portfolio for higher...
23 Feb 20221h 3min

SI180: Data Versus Stories & The "Moscow Rules" ft. Mark Rzepczynski
Mark Rzepczynski joins us today to discuss Trend Following versus Momentum strategies, the need to be humble about making economic forecasts, how Central Bank policies affect Trend Following performance, Cathie Wood and ARKK coming under pressure from the media, Trend Following on options, calculating a systems’ risk-to-stop, vetting new investors for their ability to handle risk, hard data versus stories, when to apply the ‘Moscow rules’.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:How Trend Following differs to momentumAvoiding the need to make predictionsThe Federal Reserve and its effects on Trend Following strategiesARKK’s media scrutiny following recent poor performanceThe similarities between Trend Following and optionsHow to calculate ‘risk-to-stop’Qualifying new investors before accepting them as clientsThe “Moscow Rules"-----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 Mark on Twitter.Episode TimeStamps:00:00 – Intro02:02 – Macro recap from Niels04:39 – Weekly review of performance23:00 – Q1 Zack: How should I calculate the risk-to-stop metric?28:42 – Q2 Peregrine: Vetting new investors for their ability to handle risk 42:09 – Q3 Graham: Can you detail some of the definitions of a breakout?47:24 – Trend Following versus Momentum01:00:58 – Molecules of prices01:08:31 – Data versus stories and when to...
19 Feb 20221h 17min

ALO02: Properly Diversifying a $1.6Trillion Portfolio ft. Sebastien Page
Alan Dunne is joined today by Sebastien Page to discuss how price shocks affect correlations, approaches to strategic asset allocation, how to position portfolios for the years ahead, the current outlook for equities their various sectors, investing in a rising interest rate environment, responding to unexpected regime shifts in the markets, defining and achieving utility maximisation, the merits and drawbacks of mean variance analysis, how to properly diversify a portfolio, the durability of treasury bonds, lessons from research on high performance individuals and teams, achieving a state of ‘flow’, and how to simplify complex financial topics.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:Ever-changing market correlationsStrategic asset allocationResponding to interest rate changesAchieving utility maximisationMean variance analysisPortfolio diversificationTreasury bondsHigh performance teamsSimplifying complexityFollow 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 Sebastien on LinkedIn & read his book.-----Episode TimeStamps: 00:00 - Intro03:52 - Sebastien’s journey into the investment management industry07:45 - How Sebastien’s book came about09:39 - Current view on the...
16 Feb 20221h 16min

SI179: A New Golden Era for Trend Followers ft. Alan Dunne
Today, Alan Dunne joins me to discuss how the change of tone from central banks can affect markets globally, Trend Following in a rising interest rate environment, the case for and against including carry trades in a Trend Following portfolio, how managed futures Trend Following can help investors throughout ever-changing markets, the future of the traditional 60 / 40 portfolio, some takeaways from Alan’s conversation with Phil Huber on this week’s new Top Traders Unplugged Allocator Series, and why we might be entering a great period for Trend Following strategies.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:How central bank signalling affects risk appetite around the worldHow Trend Following might perform in a rising interest rate environmentIncluding carry trades in a Trend Following portfolioHow managed futures can help investor throughout ever-changing marketsThe viability of the 60 /40 portfolio going forwardWhy a new golden era for Trend Following might be emerging-----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.Episode TimeStamps:00:00 - Intro02:36 - Macro recap from Niels05:29 - Weekly review of returns09:55 - How the change of tone from central banks affects the markets18:29 - Trend Following in rising interest rate environment25:19 - Including carry trades in a Trend Following portfolio36:12...
12 Feb 20221h 4min

ALO01: Adapting to Market Cycles ft. Phil Huber
Alan Dunne is joined today by Phil Huber, in the first of our new Allocator Series, to discuss the education gap that needs to be filled regarding efficient capital allocation, the typical clients and types of portfolios that Phil deals with, adjusting portfolios to accommodate for changing market cycles, defining ‘alternative investments’, the extent to which a portfolio should be actively managed, traditional versus alternative investments, the challenges of manager selection, cultivating a behavioural edge as an allocator, and how to manage difficult conversations with clients.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:Better education around capital allocationAllocating capital throughout various market cyclesHow to define an ‘alternative investment’How actively we should manage a portfolioTraditional versus alternative investmentsThe difficulties in the manager selection processBeing a great behavioural investor as an allocatorDifficult conversations with clientsAdvice for aspiring capital allocatorsFollow 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 Phil on Twitter.-----Episode TimeStamps: 00:00 - Intro02:44 - How 2022 has been for allocators so far03:13 - Phil Huber’s journey into investing05:46 - Why Phil wrote a book on capital allocation09:00 - The typical clients, and types of portfolios that
9 Feb 20221h 5min

SI178: Value Investing vs Trend Following ft. Jerry Parker
Jerry Parker joins us today to discuss the importance of hanging on to your outlier winners, value investing versus trend following, the optimum number of entry & signals per trade, the need to redefine ‘safe assets’, Jerry & Richard Brennans’ thoughts on Howard Marks’ remarks about Trend Following, risk parity within a Trend Following portfolio, the unpredictability of endogenous outliers, and deconstructing the old narrative that ‘Trend Following is dead’.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:Letting winners run and cutting losses earlyUsing 1 entry signal and 1 exit signal per trade versus multiple signalsRedefining what are typically known as ‘safe assets’Howard Marks’ opinion on following priceAchieving effective risk parity within a portfolioHow endogenous outliers are hard to predict-----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 Jerry on Twitter.Episode TimeStamps:00:00 – Intro01:44 – Macro recap from Niels05:24 – Weekly review of performance11:51 – Jerry & Rich’s thoughts on Howard Mark’s opinion of Trend Following24:46 – Why exit rules might be harder to create than entry rules43:45 – Risk parity within a Trend Following portfolio51:03 – The unpredictability of endogenous outliers01:10:08 – The old narrative that ‘Trend Following is dead’01:13:54 – Benchmark performance...
6 Feb 20221h 16min