SI350: Why All Roads Lead to Higher Yields ft. Alan Dunne

We’re joined today by Rob Carver to discuss how to approach position-sizing and risk-per-trade, mean reversion trading strategies, how to invest in globally diversified systematic Trend Following CTAs, ‘buying the dip’ in the S&P 500, static and dynamic optimisation when trading smaller accounts, and the inclusion of more obscure markets into a Trend Following system.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:How to effectively approach position-sizingSome methods for investing in Trend Following CTAsIf 'buying the dip' in the S&P 500 is a good strategyPortfolio optimisationTrading lesser-known 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 Rob on Twitter.Episode TimeStamps: 00:00 - Intro01:12 - A big thank you to those who have left a rating or review on iTunes. Feel free to share this podcast with like-minded friends using this link: https://top-traders-unplugged.captivate.fm/listen 02:23 - Macro recap from Niels04:24 - Weekly review of returns09:12 - How do you approach position-sizing and risk-per-trade?18:42 - Check out my new blog post: How to Invest with the Best20:01 - Q1 &...

12 Dec 20211h 23min

How should you protect your portfolio against large losses, but without giving up its upside potential? To answer this question, and many more, I invited back professor of finance at Duke University, Campbell Harvey to the show. I also thought it would be fitting if Rob Carver, could also join us, considering Rob and Cam used to work together at Man AHL. Enjoy the show as we discuss how to navigate a crisis in the markets, and what to expect in terms of the global outlook for investing.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn This Episode, You’ll Learn:How to manage a portfolio through a crisisThe motivation behind writing his new bookVarious methods of portfolio protectionDiversification within Trend Following systemsVolatility targeting and why it can be a powerful toolThe journey of volatility going from a measure to an inputDrawdowns as an important metric to monitorTiming portfolio rebalances effectivelyThe 60 / 40 portfolio, diversification, and inflation-----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.Follow Cam on Twitter.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. <a...

9 Dec 20211h 17min

Richard Brennan returns today to discuss the misconception of volatility as risk, thoughts on the various measures of risk, drawdowns as an opportunity ‘buy the dip’ in Trend Following strategies, how Richard thinks about risk, the relationship between volatility and risk, and the differences between convergent and divergent traders.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:Why volatility might not always mean that a model is riskyThe best way to measure true riskHow to 'buy the dip'What Richard thinks about riskThe relationship between volatility and riskConvergent versus divergent trading-----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 – Intro01:58 – Announcement of very special Systematic Investor episodes over Christmas featuring Niels, Jerry, Moritz, Rob & Rich together for the first time02:23 – A huge thank you to listeners of the show, such as Dave W, for leaving your 5-star reviews on iTunes, and feel free to share this link with 3 of your like-minded friends: https://top-traders-unplugged.captivate.fm/listen 02:57 – Macro recap from Niels06:04 – Weekly review of performance16:19 – Drawdowns as an opportunity ‘buy the dip’ in the Trend Following strategies23:10 – Check out our upcoming midweek-episode with guests Cam Harvey and Rob...

5 Dec 20211h 10min

If we could gather all of the famous investing pioneers from world history into one room and ask them to build the perfect portfolio, what would it look like? Well Steve Foerster and his co-author (and previous guest on the show) Andrew Lo, set out to do just that, with their new book called 'In Pursuit of the Perfect Portfolio'. I thought I'd invite Steve onto the show to discuss his new book, go through some of the 'golden threads' of investing that he came across, his journey in the world of finance, and of course, get his opinion on how close Trend Following is to 'the Perfect Portfolio'.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn This Episode, You’ll Learn:Steve's journey to becoming a Professor of Finance and how he ended up co-authoring a book with Professor Andrew LoSome of the concepts from the legendary financial experts they interviewed for the bookHow closely linked the academic world of finance really isAbout some of the most important findings in investment research over the decadesAbout the "untold" story of an early 20th-century mathematician, Louis BachelierHarry Markowitz' storyWhat Eugene Fama's Perfect Portfolio looks likeAbout William Sharpe and his now famous 'Sharpe Ratio'How the phrase 'beta' came aboutHow computers enabled researchers to access deeper insights into the world of investingAbout the debate between active and passive investingWhether volatility should still be considered as a measure of riskAbout the progression of volatility data into today's investment modelsAbout the story of Eugene FamaHow Steve views the question of 'what is the perfect portfolio?'Whether Steve considers Trend Following investing as, essentially, a perfect portfolio-----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 <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2OnOvLbIV3AttbFLxuoaBW" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

1 Dec 20211h 6min

Mark Rzepczynski joins us today to discuss how markets will react to the likely upcoming tapering policies of central banks around the world, how Trend Followers overcome uncertainty, the reasons for and against overriding trading models, the historically optimum balance between bonds, stocks, and Trend Following, how trading non-correlated assets usually results in profitable long-term performance, and why longer-term trading systems tend to achieve the highest returns over time.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:Overcoming the uncertainty in marketsWhen to override your system, if everBalancing between difference asset classesThe need to trade non-correlated assetsWhy longer-term systems achieve higher win percentages-----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 – Intro02:03 – A huge thank you to listeners of the show for leaving your 5-star reviews on iTunes, and feel free to share our link with 3 of your like-minded friends: https://top-traders-unplugged.captivate.fm/listen 02:26 – Macro recap from Niels03:50 – Weekly review of performance09:12 – Q1; Glen: Can you give me some feedback on my equities Trend Following system?18:00 – Discussion on Central bank tapering42:15 – Clearing up some of the current discourse around inflation55:19 –...

28 Nov 20211h 14min

Jason Buck is joined today by Zed Francis to discuss the benefits of adding volatility strategies to your portfolio, achieving a negative a correlation to equities during market downturns, what Zed calls the ‘3 trading levers’, profiting from institutional volatility players, problems with some long-volatility strategies, when a discretionary approach is needed, how to adjust a portfolio if volatility is persisting, some thoughts on the VIX ETF, helping clients to achieve capital efficient accounts, maintaining liquidity for rebalancing during a selloff, and the deeper insight into the global macro landscape that being a volatility expert gives you.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:The benefits of volatility strategies to a portfolioHow to profit from large stock market selloffsSome of Zed Francis’s unique approaches to volatility tradingProfiting from institutional volatility tradersWhen to apply a discretionary approachThe VIX ETFHelping clients to be cash efficient in their portfoliosThe need for liquidity during large market movesFollow 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 Twitter.-----Episode TimeStamps: 00:00 - Intro01:41 - Why should somebody add volatility or tail-risk strategies into their portfolio?03:10 - Seeking a negative correlation to equities06:16 - Can you explain what you call your ‘3 trading levers’?08:11 - Can you breakdown your approach to combining ‘long gamma’ and ‘short Vega’?13:40 - Do you aim to profit off...

24 Nov 20211h 9min

Jerry Parker joins us today to discuss trading single stocks while maintaining a systematic approach, the benefits of trading a broad universe of assets, how investors naturally gravitate toward strategies with lesser returns, but hidden risks, why you need volatility in order to gain maximum returns, what to do with dividends as a Trend Follower, and diversifying Trend Following models versus diversifying look-back periods.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:A systematic approach to trading single stocksWhy you should trade a broad universe of assetsWhy the best thing to do is often the hardest thing to do as investorsWhy volatility is our friend, especially when it's directionalHow to manage dividends as a Trend Following traderThe best methods of diversification-----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 - Intro01:41 - Feel free to share this podcast with like-minded friends using this link: https://top-traders-unplugged.captivate.fm/listen and a big thank you to those who have left a rating or review on iTunes02:03 - Macro recap from Niels03:10 - Weekly review of returns06:44 - Q1; Robert: How does Jerry select his single stocks to trade?16:27 - Q2; Brian: What does Jerry do with the dividends from the singles stocks he trades?20:20 - Discussion on recent New York Times

22 Nov 20211h 3min

Special guest, Bastian Bolesta, joins Jason Buck today to discuss why volatility strategies should be added to our portfolios, how to keep improving as a trader while not over-optimising your systems, how recent large equity selloffs have affected Bastian’s approach to the markets, the average duration of his long volatility trades, how to weight recent data versus long-term data, trading VIX contracts intra-day, shorter-term Trend Following, momentum trading, mean-reversion strategies, and the cash efficiency of intraday models.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HEREIn this episode, we discuss:Why we should be invested in volatility strategiesImproving over time but not over-tinkeringHow much markets may have changed in recent yearsThe average duration of volatility tradesRecent data versus long-term dataShorter-term Trend FollowingThe benefits of cash-efficiency within intraday modelsFollow 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 Twitter.-----Episode TimeStamps: 00:00 - Intro02:09 - Why should somebody add volatility strategies into their portfolio?04:09 - How do you overcome the problem of getting better but not wanting to tinker too much?11:03 - How has recent market behaviour affected your approach to volatility trading?22:05 - What is the average duration of your long volatility trades?28:02 - How do you weight recent data versus long-term data?31:07 - How do you look at trading intra-day VIX contracts?37:39 - What gave you...

18 Nov 20211h 14min