With an early passion for video games and teaching himself programming languages Q-Basic and C, Corey Hoffstein did not expect to ultimately wind up in money management. But exposure to various roles in the industry through an internship started him down the path, helping him see how to marry his love of computer science with markets.

Now the CIO of Newfound Research, a firm he co-founded more than a decade ago, Corey is focused on delivering to investors the one free lunch they are entitled to: diversification. We spend most of the discussion here, with an emphasis on “return stacking”, a strategy that Newfound embraces to expand access to diversifying assets. In this light, a topic we spend some time on is trend following, a strategy that has proven to deliver attractive low correlation to stock and bond returns.

Corey describes the manner in which the implementation of trend following is similar to the delta hedging of a long volatility position, allowing the strategy to provide some portfolio protection in risk-off events.

And with risk-off in mind, we talk as well about “liquidity cascades”, research that Corey and his team have done to highlight the manner in which trades that live and breathe within the market’s ecosystem of risk can create spill-over effects that amplify asset price movements. 

I hope you enjoy this episode of the Alpha Exchange, my conversation with Corey Hoffstein.