SI361: The Four Faces of Trend Following ft. Richard Brennan
Richard Brennan joins Niels for a conversation that redefines how trend following is understood. Behind the shared language lie four distinct archetypes - each built around a different purpose. Richard walks through them with clarity, then unpacks the trade-offs: static sizing vs. vol targeting, symmetry vs. asymmetry, speed vs. patience. A real-world portfolio test drives the point home... some strategies don’t just prefer diversification, they depend on it. This episode is about design, but more than that, it’s about alignment. Because in a field crowded with performance metrics, the most important question often goes unasked: what exactly is this built to do?-----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:01:58 - ChatGPT5 is on fire06:04 - The AI revolution could be the end of humanity14:23 - Industry performance update19:19 - An overview of what topics this episode will cover21:23 - The decisions that really matter in trend following27:10 - The 4 archetypes of trend following34:05 - Its not about facts, its about objectives40:09 - 1st debate: Diversification vs. concentration48:52 - 2nd debate: Absolute momentum vs. cross-sectional momentum50:21 - 3rd debate: Volatility targeting vs static small bits54:02 - What trend followers sometimes get wrong about volatility and position sizing57:48 - 4th debate: Symmetry vs asymmetry01:02:00 -...
15 Aug 1h 26min
UGO05: Volatility’s Blueprint: How Markets Really Move ft. Mandy Xu & Ed Tom
From the first futures in 1848 to today’s zero-day options, Cem Karsan, Mandy Xu, and Ed Tom chart how derivatives have moved from the market’s periphery to its center of gravity. At the core is Cboe’s new VIX decomposition tool, which disentangles moves driven by downside hedging, upside speculation, and shifts in the volatility surface. Through episodes like the yuan shock, Volmageddon, and 2024’s “Liberation Day,” they show how positioning can amplify or mute risk, and why vol sometimes rises into rallies. This is a guided tour of volatility’s inner workings, and how reading its structure can reveal the market’s next move before price does.-----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: 59:42 - Introduction to the series02:21 - Where did options come from and where are we going?10:20 - The purpose and mechanisms of the VIX decomposition tool18:55 - The history of the VIX index23:20 - The beginning of a volmageddon26:24 - A comparison between 2 recent volatility events (August 2024 and April 2025)35:03 - Key indicators for understanding risk in markets42:23 - The current state of 0DTE options50:29 - The optimal way of using VIX and hedge optionsCopyright © 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...
12 Aug 55min
SI360: The Fed, the Fiction, and the Fight for Control ft. Alan Dunne
When official data starts serving politics, markets lose their anchor. Alan Dunne and Niels examine the quiet shift unfolding as the U.S. edges closer to emerging market behavior - firing statisticians, sidelining inconvenient numbers, and pressuring the Fed ahead of a consequential leadership reshuffle. With labor supply falling, growth stalling, and tariffs acting as stealth taxes, the Fed’s playbook no longer fits the moment. Behind the scenes, hedge fund power brokers position themselves to shape what comes next. Plus, an unvarnished look at trend following’s drawdown, the lazy critiques making the rounds, and why so many allocators still miss the point.-----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.Episode TimeStamps:01:32 - What has caught our attention recently?08:53 - Dunne's global macro overview13:31 - Is our understanding of growth and GDP outdated?17:52 - The Fed is under threat from multiple angles21:38 - Dunne's impression of Kevin Warsh as a candidate for Fed chairman26:43 - An odd juxtaposition with hedge fund titans' influences on the Fed32:35 - Industry performance update37:30 - Our takeaways from The Wall Street Journal's article on Trend Following43:35 - Why should investors even consider managed futures in the first place?45:40 - Has Dunne ever been on the verge of cutting trend?52:08 - Do long term investors really need diversifiers?Copyright © 2025 – CMC AG – All...
9 Aug 1h 5min
IL40: Why the Economy Feels Broken... Even When It’s Growing ft. Diane Coyle
What if our most trusted economic statistic is pointing us in the wrong direction? Diane Coyle joins Kevin Coldiron to explore why GDP - long treated as a proxy for progress - now obscures more than it reveals. As economies shift toward services, intangibles, and unpaid digital labor, much of today’s value creation falls outside the frame. Drawing on her new book, The Measure of Progress, Coyle makes the case for a new way of seeing - one that captures time, trust, and the real foundations of growth. The question isn’t how fast we’re moving. It’s whether we’re measuring the right road.-----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 Kevin on SubStack & read his Book.Follow Diane on X and read her book.Episode TimeStamps: 02:19 - Introduction to Diane Coyle03:55 - How did the current systems of national accounts came to be?06:55 - Why the national statistics doesn't add up11:22 - The underlying problems of GDP18:42 - How software pose a problem for measuring GDP and economic activity23:25 - The challenges of cloud computing26:39 - What is disintermediation and why is it a problem for economic...
6 Aug 56min
SI359: Trend Following in a World That Loves Bubbles ft. Mark Rzepczynski
Mark Rzepczynski joins Niels Kaastrup-Larsen for a conversation shaped by tension between surface calm and deeper dislocation. From copper’s sudden collapse to signs of stress in liquidity and leverage, they explore how market behavior is increasingly defined by fragility, not fundamentals. With Fed policy boxed in, equity optimism rising, and stablecoins quietly redrawing the contours of the monetary system, the challenge for investors isn’t prediction - it’s positioning. They also confront the limits of complexity in models and why, in uncertain regimes, the discipline of doing less may offer the most resilience. This is trend following in context.-----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 Mark on Twitter.Episode TimeStamps:01:15 - What has caught our attention recently?09:08 - The tough situation of Fed independence10:43 - Industry performance update14:27 - Mark's analysis of the current trend following performance21:01 - Are we picking up long term inflation trends?23:04 - 2025 has given us something rare26:05 - The core problem that trend followers face today36:42 - The evolution of stablecoins43:52 - The definition of financial bubbles is becoming diluted53:11 - Risk - a feeling or a factor?58:42 - The seductiveness of complexity01:01:10 - Key observations from our conversation01:07:17 - What is up for next week?Copyright © 2025 – CMC AG – All
2 Aug 1h 8min
GM85: What If the Real Risk Isn’t Recession — But Reinvention? ft. Steven Bell
Steven Bell has seen the macro machine from every angle - Treasury insider, hedge fund manager, and chief economist. In this wide-ranging conversation with Alan Dunne, he traces the quiet erosion of economic orthodoxy and why AI, not tariffs, may prove the more destabilizing force. Bell explains how Fed independence is fraying, why wage dynamics matter more than headline inflation, and what investors miss when they over-index on models. With stories from trading floors and policy rooms alike, this episode captures a rare perspective: someone who’s watched markets evolve, not just from charts, but from inside the decisions that moved them.-----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 Steven on LinkedIn.Episode TimeStamps: 02:20 - Introduction to Steven Bell05:37 - Has the challenge of forecasting economics changed?10:27 - Was it easier to be a money manager back in the days?13:11 - Is emotion and hysteria taking over markets?16:48 - Tariffs disappearing? Forget it21:41 - The economic impact of the recent CPI data24:38 - How tariffs will impact workers and productivity28:54 - Bell's outlook for inflation32:15 - Do deficits even matter?36:51 - How messy will the Fed's handling of inflation be?44:16 - Who is a likely replacement for Powell?45:11 -
30 Juli 1h 7min
SI358: Why the Best Trend Models Might Be the Simplest Ones ft. Tom Wrobel & Andrew Beer
Andrew Beer and Tom Wroble return to join Niels Kaastrup-Larsen for a timely examination of how trend following is adapting, and why some say it may be losing its edge. Tom unpacks new research showing a quiet drift toward slower models, raising the question of whether CTAs are evolving or converging. Andrew pushes back on the prevailing wisdom around diversification, suggesting that complexity often obscures cost rather than delivering true value. From shifting model speeds to the incentives shaping manager behavior, this is a conversation about what trend following is becoming... and what investors risk overlooking as some strategies grow more complex in pursuit of outperformance.-----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 Andrew on Twitter.Follow Tom on LinkedIn,Episode TimeStamps: 01:52 - What has caught our attention recently?06:11 - Industry performance update07:44 - Wrobel's perspective on the current CTA environment09:32 - Key findings from Wrobel's recent paper14:51 - The shape is key for managing risk17:26 - How changes in the underlying managers affect replication strategies22:10 - Is there such a thing as a happy "medium" in trading speed?28:09 - Are replication strategies less challenged when selecting markets?33:35 - The structure of an allocator36:12 - How much tracking error is acceptable in...
26 Juli 1h 13min
TTU150: Scarcity, Security, and the Shift to Soil ft. Artem Milinchuk
What happens when an overlooked asset becomes essential? Artem Milinchuk returns to share how farmland, long seen as niche... is quietly stepping into the center of long-term portfolios. He and Niels discuss what’s changed since 2020: rising inflation, tighter capital, a demographic handoff reshaping land ownership, and how tech is altering both the economics and culture of agriculture. This isn’t about chasing yield. It’s about owning what endures. From almonds to avocados, tariffs to treasuries, and legacy to liquidity, this episode offers a clear-eyed look at an asset class rooted in necessity, and poised for relevance.-----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 Artem on X.Check out these resources about farmland investingEpisode Timestamps:02:24 - A recap on our previous conversation06:22 - What has changed about their strategy since our last conversation (in 2020)?10:28 - How does farmland investing actually generate income?12:32 - How does farmland investing work and operate?15:28 - Geopolitical volatility - How FarmTogether deals with tariffs19:00 - How different types of crops carries different types of risk23:22 - A deep dive into the volatility behind farmland investing27:40 - What is a fair level of volatility to expect from farmland investing?30:49 - The tech side of agriculture - where are we heading?33:58 - Major changes in...
23 Juli 1h 6min
