Chat With Traders

You’re about to hear a first-hand account from someone who’s been on a wild ride through the U.S. justice system. My guest is Michael Kimelman; a former prop trader and hedge fund manager who was convicted (and served time) for insider trading…You’ll hear about the series of events leading up to his arrest, details about the trial, revelations of a rogue judge and the dim reality of life while incarcerated.If you get through this episode and you’re curious to know more, then you might be pleased to know Michael has also written a book—the title: Confessions of a Wall Street Insider: A Cautionary Tale of Rats, Feds and Banksters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was exactly 100-episodes ago when I first had Bert Mouler on the podcast. This week, I’m joined by him again for a second interview…Bert is an algorithmic trader with a serious focus on machine learning. His trading decisions are driven purely by data, and he goes to great lengths to remove human bias and flaws through the use of automation.So, coming up over the next 60-minutes or so, you'll hear about: Bert's increasing efforts to automate as many decisions as possible The attraction of markets and areas with less sophisticated participants Other potential sources of edge—beyond alpha A peek into Bert's high frequency market making strategy And that's certainly not all... While listening, I encourage you to keep an open mind and mull over Bert’s creative thoughts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Featuring on this episode is former software entrepreneur turned hedge fund manager, Erik Townsend. I’m sure some will already be quite familiar with Erik—in particular the macro investing crowd, as Erik also hosts the Macro Voices podcast.After selling his company in 1998, Erik made a few lifestyle and investing decisions which he soon began to question, but took ownership of his situation and the discovery of global macro set him sailing in a new direction…Major talking points we cross off, include; how Erik uses the concept of The Fourth Turning and major cycles to guide his macro outlook. And one possible scenario for the future of cryptocurrencies—I'm sure some of you won't like what you hear, but I think it's well worth listening to! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest on this episode is Jimmy Soni—who, with his co-author Rob Goodman, recently wrote the biography of Claude Shannon, titled; A Mind at Play.Shannon was born in 1916 and became one of the foremost intellects of the twentieth century, before passing away in 2001. He was a mathematician, a scientist, an inventor and also, a stock market investor…Although he’s widely unknown by the general public, Shannon is responsible for Information Theory—a revolutionary method of measuring information which stands behind much of the technology we use all day everyday.Shannon’s other achievements, discoveries and inventions range from artificial intelligence to cryptography and fire breathing trumpets to chess playing machines and the world’s first wearable computer, and that’s not all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bobby Cho is a cryptocurrency trader at Cumberland Mining—which is a company of DRW Trading. Ever since getting involved in financial markets, during 2008, he has gravitated towards mostly illiquid/difficult-to-trade products…So, in some ways, it was inevitable that Bobby would begin to explore Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. This was around 2013, while Vice President at SecondMarket.In 2014, Bobby became Director at Bitcoin exchange, itBit, and then in 2016, joined Cumberland Mining—one of the largest institutional liquidity providers in cryptocurrency markets (predominately Bitcoin and Ethereum).During the episode, Bobby and I got speaking about some pretty interesting topics, which ranged from; the infrastructure of crypto markets to the curiosity and entrepreneurial mindset which powers DRW, and the challenges of exchange arbitrage to the real world value of Blockchain technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the 90’s, Kevin Muir was a proprietary derivatives trader for RBC Dominion Securities. In 2000, Kevin branched out to begin trading independently, and since 2014, he’s been writing a daily blog, The Macro Tourist.Kevin’s unique in the sense that he fits the bill of two largely different trading types; an intraday trader and a global macro trader. He also doesn’t specialize in one particular thing, or certainly not to the extent that many traders do…Kevin can be quoted as saying, “I never know where I’m going to make money next year.” And that’s because he’s someone who’s continually seeking out the next great trade. In the past, Kevin’s great trades have come in the form of; risk arbitrage, mining Bitcoin, convertible bonds and day trading futures—amongst many other things! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. William Ziemba’s an academic, a practitioner, gambler, trader and an author. He’s worked with and consulted to many well-respected names in the field, such as; Edward Thorp, Blair Hull and the very successful horse bettor, Bill Benter.In the beginning, horse betting was William’s field of expertise (he even published a book titled, Beat The Racetrack!) And in many ways, for William, horse betting worked as a gateway to trading financial markets—which he’s been doing since 1983.Now in current times, William manages a fund; Alpha Z Advisors—which started trading in July 2013 and as of May 2017, has returned 527%.Much of William's trading revolves around calendar anomalies, arbitrage strategies and behavioral biases. We spend a good amount of time discussing these few things, plus William shares one anomaly he's been trading for many years.In the later part of this episode, we also talk about position sizing, the Kelly Criterion and finally, horse racing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I first interviewed Mike at CWTNYC, in May 2017. The 100-listeners (give or take) who attended, will already be very familiar with Mike and there may be a few moments of déjà vu throughout this episode. But for everyone else…Mike came into trading around 20-years ago, beginning at Chicago prop firm, TransMarket Group, where he ultimately spent 12-years of his career. Over the course of his time there, Mike became one of their largest 30-year Treasury basis traders, both in terms of volume and performance.Now days, Mike is trading a relative value strategy through his own book, and building out a track record with the aim to launch a hedge fund in the coming years…But you’ll hear more about all of this, the things which have helped Mike get to where he is now, and how he trades bonds using a relative value strategy during this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sheelah Kolhatkar is a writer at the The New Yorker, who was previously a journalist at Bloomberg Businessweek, and prior to that, a hedge fund analyst.She’s also the author of New York Times bestseller, Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street.Of course, the most wanted man being referred to, is the ultra-wealthy hedge fund legend, Steven Cohen of S.A.C. Capital Advisors—someone who Sheelah has become very familiar with, through much of her own tireless and strenuous research…During our conversation, Sheelah gives color to; where Steven started out in life and how he became an ultra-wealthy multi-billionaire—with, might I add, an elaborate art collection, how S.A.C. became the target of one of histories greatest insider trading investigations, and ultimately, how it all played out... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, I have a returning guest—who first appeared on episode 53. His name is a mystery, but he goes by the handle: @BTCVIXEpisode 53 was the first time I covered Bitcoin on this podcast, and that was at the very end of 2015. As you’re probably aware, the cryptocurrency markets have evolved a lot since then, so BTCVIX is here to fill us in on what’s been happening and, potentially, what lies ahead…We also cover how to acquire various cryptocurrencies, best practises for protecting your coins, is Bitcoin in a bubble, the frenzy surrounding ICO's, and much much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices