The Derivative

Engineering Alpha using Trend and Volatility on Equity Beta with Eric Leake of ALTUS Private Capital

9 snips
Oct 23, 2025
Guest
Eric Leake
Join Eric Leake, founder of Altus Private Capital and a former music major turned quantitative portfolio manager, as he dives into the art of combining long-term equity trends with short-term volatility management. He discusses how to smooth returns and manage risk by linking musical patterns to market behavior. Eric reveals unique strategies for exploiting market extremes and emphasizes tactical exposure management. Learn how to harness volatility for alpha and navigate turbulent markets like a pro!
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ANECDOTE

From Music Major To Market Quant

  • Eric Leake studied music and nearly became a professional musician before switching careers.
  • He connects musical patterns to market patterns and quantitative modeling.
INSIGHT

Trend Works Long, Noise Rules Short

  • Trend following works on longer timeframes because markets reflect fundamentals over months and years.
  • Shorter timeframes are dominated by investor behavior and noise, so different tools are needed.
INSIGHT

Stack Trend With Volatility Signals

  • Combine long-term trend models with short-term volatility models to smooth returns.
  • Use volatility signals to hedge during extreme, behavior-driven pullbacks while staying aligned with macro trend.
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