Top Traders Unplugged With Niels Kaastrup-larsen | Engaging Conversations With The Top Traders & Investors

Turtle Trading legend Jerry Parker joins us today to discuss why smart people often struggle with systematic investing, the benefits of non-predictive investment strategies, what changes Jerry would make to Richard Dennis and William Eckhart’s original Turtle Trading rules, why predefined trade exits are good for your mind-state, why Trend Following strategies are so suited to unexpected market events, the importance of sticking to the core principles when applying a Trend Following system, whether Trend Following traders should have learned anything from the markets in 2020, why you should take as little as possible from a backtest, and what having a robust portfolio actually means. Also check out my interview with Turtle Trading legendary mentor Richard Dennis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94nUnXsYpLY%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (here). Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www

In today’s show, we discuss the benefits of not taking profits too early during huge price moves, how a Trend Follower might be trading Bitcoin, if March 2020 may have impacted a Trend Follower’s approach to the markets, why the S&P 500 could be considered just as much of an ‘alternative’ market as Iron Ore, our most memorable trades, Bitcoin as a great diversifier in a Trend Following portfolio, and how a retail trader can gain access to managed futures.  Questions we answer this week include: What prompted Moritz to place his Tesla short trade recently, and how did it play out?  What are your views on stop-losses? Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Moritz on https://my.captivate.fm/@MoritzSeibert%22%

We’re joined today by Rob Carver to discuss how quant managers compared to discretionary managers in 2020, Winton Capital’s underperformance and resulting loss of AUM, the pressure for successful Trend Following firms to expand into different investment styles, why March & December 2020 were generally the best for Trend Followers despite being so different, how a portfolio combining a few historically successful Trend Following firms has proven to be a very potent investment strategy, navigating negative interest rate environments, how to look at Sharpe Ratios effectively, and how to calculate the ‘Serenity Ratio’ of various strategies. Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Rob on https://my.captivate.fm/@Investing

In this episode, I conclude my special 2-part series on how to design a Trend Following system, with a deeper dive into some performance statistics over the last couple of decades, including correlations, drawdowns and how different market environments have impacted our system.  I also touch on how to add some ‘personality’ to a fully algorithmic trading system. Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). IT’s TRUE

In today’s special episode, I go deep into how to design a robust and profitable Trend Following program.  I also cover topics such as why having an opinion on any of your trading positions can be a bad idea, how Trend Following returns can vary massively with just a slight shift in portfolio weightings, the benefits of having a unique approach to the markets, and why longer-term trading may be more profitable than short-term trading. Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). IT’s TRUE

Today we welcome back Jerry Parker and Moritz Seibert onto the show to discuss the possible long-term breakout of commodity prices, trading Tesla around its inclusion into the S&P 500 index, carrying out non-system trades, Bitcoin reaching new all-time highs, the importance of staying in some of these long-awaited trends, relying on your backtest regardless of the circumstances, why long-only buy & hold funds might not deserve many plaudits this year, the perfect time to make adjustments to your system, and why it can be a good idea to avoid being too skeptical in the markets. Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Jerry on https://my.captivate.fm/@RJParkerJr09%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter). Follow Moritz on h

Special guest Mark Rzepczynski returns to the show today to discuss how Trend Following strategies performed during this very unusual year, the likeliest safe-haven assets of 2021, whether or not 2020 should be a year that brings about new adjustments to your trading systems, how being nimble can increase robustness, Trend Following as a ‘store of value’, whether the context of financial & world news should be important to systematic trading, the disconnect between financial assets & the real-world economy, and we also attempt to explain the returns dispersion found among similar strategies this year. Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Mark on https://twitter.com/mrzepczynski%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter).

Today, we discuss why a random calendar year is not a good measure of performance, recent increased volatility in alternative markets, how to define an ‘alternative’ market, the strong case for a mixed portfolio of stocks & Trend Following strategies, how to perform the easy-money Bitcoin trade, the benefits of using and investing in Bitcoin, trading the Chinese futures markets, and why a Trend Following system would have entered you into a Tesla position without the need for any predictions. Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Moritz on https://my.captivate.fm/@MoritzSeibert%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter). IT’s TRUE

I first interviewed today’s guest back in 2015, where he predicted the Dow Jones Index would go to 32,000…a bold call back then. Mahendra Sharma is an astrological investor with an amazing track record of accurately predicting market fluctuations. He has spent his career studying astrological charts and conveying those findings, along with his understanding of human behavior, into a lucrative business giving advice on when to sell and when to hold various commodities, bonds, and currencies. His latest book on 2021 Financial Prophecies will be released in January. Thanks for listening and please welcome back to the show our guest Mahendra Sharma. “I think astrology is not about getting fame by predicting some negative event. Astrology is about guiding someone, to help people.” – Mahendra Sharma (http://www.toptradersunplugged.com/clicktotweet (Tweet))In This Episode, You’ll Learn: How Mahendra got into astrology Why he relocated to Kenya as a young man Why Mahendra pivoted to predicting the global markets Why

In today’s episode, we discuss how to effectively manage your emotional stability regardless of trading performance, the true value of Bitcoin and the various catalysts behind its price movements, the importance of being able to get back into a trade you may have recently been stopped out of, managing leverage and volatility in a portfolio, how to approach extreme anomalies in historical price data, and much more. Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Moritz on https://my.captivate.fm/@MoritzSeibert%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter). IT’s TRUE

Rob Carver returns to the show today to discuss the relevance of open trade equity compared to closed trade equity, the reported return of value’s reign over growth stocks, combining Trend Following portfolios with other strategies, the important of using significant sample sizes when analysing data, why successful systematic traders tend to have the longest documented returns on record.  Questions we answer include: Which type of moving average is generally the most effective in Trend Following?  Do you recommend any hedging strategies? Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Rob on https://my.captivate.fm/@InvestingIdiocy%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter). Follow Moritz on https://my.captivate.fm/@MoritzSeibert

This week, we discuss the importance of short sellers for well-functioning markets, the benefits of trading index futures versus cash equities, diversification in a robust Trend Following system, Pfizer’s CEO selling a majority of his stock holdings around the vaccine announcement, the differences between top independent discretionary traders & professional money managers, and the increasing use of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT).  Questions we answer this week include: Are shorter timeframes going to be more effective than longer timeframes in the future? What are your thoughts on trading less-liquid markets? Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Moritz on https://my.captivate.fm/@MoritzSeibert%22%20%5Ct%20%22_b

Artem Milinchuk is the CEO and Founder of FarmTogether, a firm specializing in farmland investments. Artem was born in the waning days of the Soviet Union, and while growing up in Russia, saw the importance of access to fresh food for a society. Artem joins us today to talk about his investment journey and why he feels that having farmland as an asset class in your investment portfolio can be one of the smartest investment moves you can make. Thanks for listening and please welcome our guest Artem Milinchuk. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: How the transition from the Soviet Union to Russia influenced Artem’s investment strategies What exactly constitutes farmland as an asset class How investing in farmland has changed over the past 40 years How farmland investments help multigenerational families keep their farms What is the main driver for investors to move into farmland Why investors include farmland in their portfolios as an inflation-proof asset How reliable is farmland investment data What effect will cli

Today, we welcome legendary author Jack Schwager onto the show to discuss his new book ‘Unknown Market Wizards’ and a range of topics such as: what timeframe makes the most successful trader, how the best traders seem to have uncorrelated returns to the overall stock market, why elite traders can often have terrible starts to their careers, how embracing risk management can take returns to a much higher level, what investors should look for in a money manger, mean-reversion versus momentum trading, and a lot more. Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Jack on Twitter. Follow Moritz on https://my.captivate.fm/@MoritzSeibert%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter). IT’s TRUE

In today’s episode, we discuss the continual need for improvements to a system, the importance of good housekeeping when it comes to managing a portfolio, the varying amounts of leverage among CFD brokers, choosing whether to accept outside investment into your strategy or go it alone, using profit stops versus letting your winners run, and the importance of protecting your intellectual property.  Questions we answer this week include: How do experienced CTAs trade through limit-down (or limit-up) situations?  Can machine learning be useful in Trend Following for more than just risk parity strategies? Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Moritz on https://my.captivate.fm/@MoritzSeibert%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank

Legendary Trend Following author & podcast host, Michael Covel, joins us today to discuss the far-reaching popularity of his books, the advantages of allocating to a Trend Following manager rather than DIY trading, managing money for clients vs being an unknown successful private trader, why Trend Following funds should worry about AUM growing to be too large, why Trend Following still deserves an important allocation to any investment portfolio after recent mediocre returns, and whether central bank Quantitive Easing programs have changed the landscape for systematic investors. Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Michael on Twitter. Follow Moritz on https://my.captivate.fm/@MoritzSeibert%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (T

“You have this asset class which has been around for hundreds of years, but up until recently I think people haven’t fully appreciated the characteristics.” – Scott Lynn (http://www.toptradersunplugged.com/clicktotweet (Tweet))Scott Lynn is the Founder and CEO of Masterworks. He began his career as a serial entrepreneur, starting tech companies focused on casual gaming, online advertising and financial technology. All along the way he collected art, and after seeing the data available in the last twenty years thanks to the Internet, Scott decided to pursue art as an investment. Art as an asset class has been around for hundreds of years, but only recently has been seen as a viable investment opportunity – made possible by Masterworks. Listen in on today’s episode to find out why art is becoming more popular as an asset class among investors, what the key macro drivers are for art, and how Masterworks is making art an accessible investment opportunity. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: How the art market is diffe

This week, we discuss how markets are handling current US presidential election uncertainty, why a healthy allocation to Trend Following strategies may be needed now more than ever, our thoughts on trading systematically in the cryptocurrency markets, and how to invest in Trend Following funds with relatively low capital. We also answer your questions, including: how do I share the details of my successful trading strategy with my employer, who is a money management firm? Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Moritz on https://my.captivate.fm/@MoritzSeibert%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter). IT’s TRUE

Systematic trading and Trend Following legend, Perry Kaufman, joins us on the show today to discuss the importance of being comfortable with risk, the benefits of continuously ranking & evaluating markets, the importance of ‘fat tails’ in Trend Following systems, why you might want to use equal risk with every trade, how to avoid being over-correlated, trading single stocks vs indices, opinions on profit targets, and why he generally prefers long trades vs short trades. You can find more about Perry’s work on his website https://kaufmansignals.com (here). Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Moritz on https://my.captivate.fm/@MoritzSeibert%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter). IT’s TRUE

Robert Carver joins us today to discuss the case for and against the Kelly Criterion, short vs medium vs long-term Trend Following, how closely you should be following different markets, diversification across markets vs across timeframes, how mainstream financial media is driving investors to alternative information sources, the amount of screens you need to trade successfully, and the importance of viewing returns in terms of percentage rather than monetary terms. Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (TTU website). Follow Rob on https://my.captivate.fm/@InvestingIdiocy%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter). Follow Moritz on https://my.captivate.fm/@MoritzSeibert%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank (Twitter). IT’s TRUE