
Top Traders Unplugged
Discover the fascinating world of investing with Niels Kaastrup-Larsen and his remarkable co-hosts. Each week, we bring you compelling conversations with legendary investors, leading economists, masterful traders, and forward-thinking thought leaders. From Trend Following and Global Macro to Geo-Politics, Commodities, Quant Investing, Crypto, and Volatility, we uncover the strategies, stories, and lessons behind their success. Gain actionable insights from industry veterans as we celebrate their achievements and learn from their challenges. Stay ahead in the ever-evolving landscape of investing - tune in weekly and elevate your financial knowledge. For the latest episodes and expert insights, visit https://toptradersunplugged.com
Latest episodes

Jan 13, 2024 • 1h 11min
SI278: Trend Following Risk Premium...is it there & could it go away? ft. Rob Carver
Rob Carver, quantitative analyst and author, discusses the potential disappearance of the Trend Following risk premium, managing exogenous and endogenous risks, trading single stocks vs. stock indices in a multi-asset trend program, the irony of the newly approved crypto ETF, and the changing nature of bitcoin.

Jan 10, 2024 • 47min
OI04: Do Alternative Markets Trend Better? ft. Scott Kerson
In this episode, Moritz Seibert is by Scott Kerson, the Head of GreshamQuant. Gresham is a commodity-focused investment management firm and GreshamQuant is their systematic trading arm. In 2017, they launched the ACAR Fund, an alternative markets trend following fund with an exclusive focus on commodities. Scott and Moritz discuss why they believes alternative markets to have better trending properties and higher Sharpe ratios within a trend following context and why they refuse to trade a larger portfolio which would also include the traditional futures markets most other CTAs trade. At the end, Scott also shares his outlook on the alternative markets CTA space with us. If you’re interested in alternative markets trend following, this is a valuable episode to listen to. -----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 Moritz on Twitter.Follow Scott on LinkedInEpisode TimeStamps: 02:22 - Introduction to Scott Kerson08:27 - When did AHL Evolution start and what is it?13:54 - What is an alternative market to Kerson and what differentiates it from other markets?20:25 - Why an exclusive focus on commodities?22:45 - What markets are Kerson trading and why?24:04 - Where are the hidden gems?26:31 - Why Kerson restrict the markets he is trading30:37 - Maintaining a neo-classical trend approach31:26 - A need for long-term?33:09 - What is the capacity of the markets?34:28 - What is the total AUM of alternative market CTAs today?35:30 - Their core research philosophy37:53 - The key barriers to entry39:52 - How have they gone through 2023?41:07 - Is there any market that stand out from the others?43:16 - The outlook of the alternative markets CTA space45:36 - Thanks for listeningCopyright © 2024 – 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 Here2. 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 Here3. Other Resources that can help youAnd 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 HerePrivacy PolicyDisclaimer

Jan 6, 2024 • 1h 6min
SI277: What Will 2024 Bring? ft. Cem Karsan
Cem Karsan, financial analyst, discusses the outlook for the economy in 2024 and the potential for stagflation. Topics include the true driver of the economy, moving towards stagflation, changing understanding of normal, U.S. election impact, and the need for crises.

Jan 3, 2024 • 1h 5min
ALO19: Managing Wealth for HNW Investors ft. Joe Prendergast
Joe Prendergast, Strategic Advisor and Head of Investment Strategy at Goodbody, discusses managing wealth for HNW investors. He emphasizes a 50-50 allocation between growth and defensive assets for a 'peace of mind' portfolio. The podcast covers risk management, interest rates impact, investing in public markets in the US, and optimistic opportunities in Europe and Asia for private equity.

Dec 30, 2023 • 1h 13min
SI276: TTU YEAR-END Special Part 2
The podcast discusses defining non-trend strategies, criteria for a good backtest, standing still vs evolving in trend following research, challenges of replicating returns in trading, predicting distribution of outcomes and the impact of populism, systematic trend following and geopolitics, and uncertainty and volatility in the market.

Dec 27, 2023 • 59min
GM54: "Weakflation" in 2024 ft. Gregory Peters
Gregory Peters, global fixed income perspective, discusses weakflation in the US economy, the risk of recession, shifts in the global economy, recent gyrations in the bond market, changing demand for US treasuries, debt sustainability, outlook for emerging markets excluding China, central bank response function, and implications of inflation on Fed policy.

Dec 22, 2023 • 1h 4min
SI275: TTU YEAR-END Special Part 1
In this special edition, the hosts discuss the performance of trend followers and CTAs in 2023. They delve into topics like volatility trading, adding non-trend strategies to trend following, and the challenges of classifying oneself in the industry. They also touch on backtesting, making changes to models, and the most important lesson learned in 2023.

Dec 19, 2023 • 46min
IL22: The Fund - The Other Side of Dalio & Bridgewater ft. Rob Copeland
Rob Copeland discusses the dark side of Bridgewater Associates and its founder, Ray Dalio. He reveals a rigged feedback system, lack of transparency in their investment process, and fear culture at the hedge fund.

Dec 16, 2023 • 1h 6min
SI274: Can You Time Trend Following? ft. Nick Baltas
Guest: Nick Baltas, expert in volatility scaling and accelerators in trend following systems. The podcast dives into the use of volatility scaling and accelerators in trend following systems. They discuss research papers on trend following CTAs, timing trend following performance, settling with 'good enough' performance, and the future of the 60/40 portfolio.

Dec 13, 2023 • 1h 5min
GAL07: Avoiding Apocalypse Through Quantum Physics & AI ft. Klee Irwin
AI is stealing the headlines with what seems like wave after wave of breakthroughs, but running parallel to this are equally rapid advancements in quantum physics and our understanding of reality. Listen in on this complex yet nuanced conversation with Klee Irwin, Founder of Quantum Gravity Research as he shares his views on physics, AI, and the accelerating course humanity finds itself on, and how it ties in to us as investors.-----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 David on Twitter.Follow Klee on LinkedIn.Episode TimeStamps: 03:31 - Introduction to Klee Irwin07:43 - Quantum technology and the double-slit experiment23:53 - The retro causality experiment26:49 - Understanding the self-simulation hypothesis50:16 - What is going on with AI?59:48 - Where can you follow Klee Irwin?01:02:10 - Key takeaways from NielsCopyright © 2024 – 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 Here2. 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 Here3. Other Resources that can help youAnd 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 HerePrivacy PolicyDisclaimer