TTU11: Lessons From a Highly Educated Founder & Fund Manager ft. Mathias Bucher of AllMountainCapital – 1of2

Our next Year-in-Review conversation comes from a manager who considers 2014 to have been a disappointing year for his firm. As a trend follower in the currency markets, Chris has unique insights into what shaped 2014 and how the next couple of years look for his industry. He also shares the importance of having discipline and sticking to your systematic models, which builds investor confidence.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn This Episode, You’ll Learn:Why the year was a disappointment for Insch Capital.As a currency trader, how he differs from firms that trade different markets.How the carry trade has all but disappeared.How he reacted to world events in his business.Why he is very proud that Insch stayed the course over 2014.What he thinks of the emerging currencies.How his investors felt about 2014.Why he is hopeful for more divergence in the years to come.How Chris will try and avoid a repeat of the 2008-2009 inflow of capital to the industry.-----Resources & Links Mentioned in this Episode:Listen to 2 hour-long conversations with Chris Cruden on Top Traders Unplugged here and 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 Chris Cruden on Linkedin.Copyright © 2025 – CMC AG – All

15 Jan 201536min

Our next year-in-review is from a recent guest who discusses the roller coaster feel to 2014, and why it was a good year for the CTA industry. He talks about what his firm learned from 2014 and why he is very excited about this year.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn This Episode, You’ll Learn:The ups and downs of 2014 from Tim’s perspective.What markets contributed most for his firm during the year.What markets he wished he did better in for 2014 and what he learned from those market shifts.The kinds of strategies they trade and what stood out as working well.What big worlds events are visualized in the markets and how they affect the strategies.How Auspice grew in 2014 and what were the drivers of that growth.What changed in their research process in 2014.Why Tim is very excited about the market environment in 2015.Why he wants to make sure investors sign up with his firm for the right reasons, not just chasing returns.What caused 2014 to be the biggest client acquisition year ever for Auspice Capital.What Auspice has planned for 2015.-----Resources & Links Mentioned in this Episode:Listen to 2 other hour-long episodes with Tim Pickering here and 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 Tim Pickering on <a href="https://ca.linkedin.com/pub/tim-pickering/11/b91/5a2" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

14 Jan 201531min

In this 2014 year-in-review, Karsten Shroeder looks at the CTA industry and give some advice on how to look at 2014 with a rational and objective eye. He also has insights into how 2015 will be for the CTA industry and how to educate more clients to the advantages of managed futures.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn This Episode, You’ll Learn:How the year evolved for Amplitude and it’s strategies.How the CTA industry did in 2014 in Karsten’s opinion.What models did well last year.How hard it is to shape models and make guesses based on world events that affect the markets.What Karsten learned from 2014.How they have increased their research team.Why his firm welcomes divergence in the markets.Why educating clients is very important.What diversification can do for clients in their portfolios.Why not to use 2014 as a reference point and say that this markets new returns for CTAs.What Karsten wishes for 2015.-----Resources & Links Mentioned in this Episode:You can listen to 2 hour-long podcasts with Karsten here and 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 Karsten Schroeder on Linkedin.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...

13 Jan 201527min

For January 2015, we will be revisiting with previous guests on the show to find out how their businesses grew and changed in 2014, and what the year was like overall for their industries.In our first Year-In-Review episode, Jason Gerlach, the first-ever guest of Top Traders Unplugged, looks at 2014 from a long-term trend following perspective.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn This Episode, You’ll Learn:Why 2014 was a great year for Sunrise Capital.What markets were responsible for much of their performance in 2014.The most challenging markets for Sunrise Capital last year.About their longer-term trend following strategies.How world events shaped market changes in 2014.About the oil collapse of 2014.How volatility returned to markets last year.How long-term trend following is getting more attention than before.How to avoid 2015 becoming like 2009 for this industry.If & When to turn down clients.How divergence is the one word that may summarize the next few years.-----Resources & Links Mentioned in this Episode:Listen to 2 hour-long episodes with Jason and Niels here and 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 Jason on LinkedIn.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...

12 Jan 201541min

In the second part of our talk with Tim Pickering, we dive into the details of his firm and the challenges that he has to overcome as a business owner and entrepreneur. Tim has some valuable life lessons for managers who are just getting started. He also dives into the different ways investors should carry out their due diligence and why he wanted to become a manager in the first place.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn This Episode, You’ll Learn:The details of Auspice’s programs and what makes them different from other managers.What discretionary traders are good at and how Tim captures lessons from them in a systematic model.How he implements the system in practice.How Tim measures risk.How he copes with being in a drawdown.What he has learned from the drawdowns that Auspice has been through.What keeps him up at night.What questions he brainstorms with his research team currently.How to detect if a model is deteriorating.How meaningful are back tests?About the CTA value-added index that Auspice developed.The difference in investing through a fund, an EFT, or other options.What investors should be asking when they go through their due diligence with Auspice Capital.Why he became an entrepreneur.The books Tim would recommend for traders and managers.What skill he would pass on to his children if he could choose only one.-----Resources & Links Mentioned in this Episode:Barclay CTA IndexBooks by Jack Schwager.Simon Sinek’s Start with Why.How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.The Prize by Daniel Yergin.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 <a...

29 Dec 20141h 4min

What is the difference between simply following a trend and capturing it? Why is growth not consistent and gradual and why do we want it to be?Learn answers to these questions and more in this week’s episodes. Niels chats with the founder of a seasoned trend-follower in Canada, who knew he wanted to go into the financial markets since his university days. His story of working for large investment banks to starting his own firm will inspire current managers and hopeful managers alike.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn This Episode, You’ll Learn:Why Tim tries to get away from being labelled as one thing or another.About growing up on a farm in Canada.How he knew he wanted to be a trader.How his experience in the energy markets affected the way he ran his business when he started it.Why discipline is so important for the kind of manager that Tim is.Why he has stuck with the theme of trading commodities.What Tim does when he is not running Auspice.The difference between following a trend and capturing a trend.How growth is not slow and steady.An overview of the products that Auspice runs.Why they launched a beta product after launching their flagship product.The history of how Tim grew Auspice with his business partner.How he chose to structure his business.How a small team can deliver the same value as a larger manager.What people should notice when looking at the track record of Auspice.What the Diversified Program does.How many markets he actually trades.Why position resizing is important.-----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 Tim Pickering on <a...

22 Dec 20141h 5min

Rob Hartman knows that showing up is half the battle when it comes to work in any industry. But his viewpoint as a solo fund manager give us deep insight into the inner-workings of a firm and how it deals with drawdowns, track record, and investors’ questions. In Part 2 of our conversation with Rob, we dive into his models and programs and how each of them works. We also learn about Rob’s background that helps round out this picture of a successful manager.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn This Episode, You’ll Learn:Why Hannah Montana has some life lessons to teach.Rob’s track record and how to read it.What happened when he changed his strategy.The details of the programs he runs.How Vanguard, his flagship product, works.How he manages his momentum trades, or trend following trades.Why his thoughts on position sizing have evolved over time.How he conducts his research and why he doesn’t do any discretionary trading on his models.The risk that he focuses on as a smaller manager and how he manages that risk.How he deals with questions about drawdowns from investors.How Rob copes emotionally when he experiences a drawdown.What his research process is without a research team.What is the optimal number of rules for Rob’s models to have.What questions investors are missing in their due diligence.Books he would recommend for would-be managers.The advice he gives to his kids and the lessons he wants to pass on.-----Resources & Links Mentioned in this Episode:Van Tharp – Trade Your Way To Financial FreedomRishi Narang – Inside the Black Box: A Simple Guide to Quantitative and High Frequency TradingRob also mentions getting inspiration from Kathryn Kaminski, who was our guest on Episode 41 and Episode 42.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 <a...

18 Dec 20141h 12min

In starting any business, you run into unexpected roadblocks and challenges, and you learn something from each mistake. Our next guest is the founder of a trading firm who has grown his business twice and learned how to overcome the barriers in his way. We can learn a lot from someone who is ready for the unexpected whether it is good or bad.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn This Episode, You’ll Learn:About his childhood in Upstate New York and Pennsylvania.Rob’s interest in music and sports.How his early Rock and Roll career faired and how he went into the financial industry.How he got hired at IBM.His years at IBM and the lessons it taught him.How his fascination for trading started after he began a consulting business.The tipping point: when he went full-in to the trading business.How he learned about different strategies and tested them.When he came upon trend following and what made him stick with it.What kind of trend following he started with.How a drawdown taught him he needed to differentiate himself from other managers.The lessons that his first expansion stage taught him.The big event that happened after 2010 that changed everything.About MF Global and the meltdown of that firm.An overview of the programs that his firm runs.How he manages investor expectations with a small team.How he outsources operational roles in order to cut costs and remain a one-man shop.-----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 Hartman on Linkedin.Copyright © 2025 – CMC AG – All Rights...

15 Dec 20141h 13min