SI374: When the Data Goes Dark: Trend Following, Turbulence & Total Portfolios ft. Katy Kaminski
Top Traders Unplugged
How alternatives can reach advisors and model portfolios
They discuss product wrappers, ETFs, education, and relationships with model portfolio researchers to broaden managed futures adoption.
What happens when the data goes dark, yet markets barely flinch? In this episode, Niels and Katy unpack the month of October defined by missing economic releases, relentless equity strength and three extraordinary days of Liberation Day turbulence. They explore why price often tells the truest story, how total portfolio thinking could rewrite the role of trend, and why short term strategies faltered while precious metals surged. The conversation then shifts to the coming wave of alternatives in private wealth and the silent risk inside target date funds, asking how managed futures can reshape retirement outcomes when timing paths go wrong.
-----
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.com
And 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 Katy on LinkedIn.
Episode TimeStamps:
00:00 - Introduction and catching up from Boston
02:00 - Life without economic data and what markets really need
04:20 - Price as the only truth and the limits of official data
05:45 - CalPERS, total portfolio thinking and what it means for trend
08:20 - AI, data centers and the inflation story hiding in electricity
10:30 - Inflation regimes, unstable prices and why trend cares about change
12:40 - Year to date trend review across equities, metals, FX and bonds
15:10 - Why short term traders struggled in a headline driven year
20:00 - Picking “the best strategy” and why robustness matters more than Sharpe
24:10 - Parameters, speed of response and treating markets differently
26:20 - Liberation Day: three consecutive shock days and what CTAs learned
33:40 - Economic trend, price trend and the blurry line with global macro
39:00 - Crisis alpha, convexity and when fundamentals stop mattering
44:50 - The rise of alternatives and why “core” portfolios are changing
48:20 - How the industry can tap private wealth and model portfolios
52:00 - Trend in target retirement funds and the sequence of returns problem
56:40 - Looking ahead, volatility forecasting and next week’s guest
58:25 - Wrap up, disclosures and final reflections
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. Click Here
2. Daily Trend Barometer and Market Score
One of the things I’m really proud of, is the fact that I have managed to published the Trend Barometer and Market Score each day for more than a decade...as these tools are really good at describing the environment for trend following managers as well as giving insights into the general positioning of a trend following strategy! Click Here
3. Other Resources that can help you
And if you are hungry for more useful resources from the trend following world...check out some precious resources that I have found over the years to be really valuable. Click Here
The AI-powered Podcast Player
