Top Traders Unplugged

Did you know that a meditation practice can help you be a better investor?

In this episode we discuss our common lessons that we ask all Top Traders, but we dive deep into why Nigol thinks differently about CTA issues. Growing up in war-torn Lebanon shifts the filters he uses to see the markets. We all have filters but in this episode you will learn what perspective he takes on the markets that may, or may not, support his market philosophy.

Welcome back to the second half of our interview with Nigol Koulajian.

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JOIN THE TREND FOLLOWING MANIFESTO BOOK LAUNCH LIST TO GET SPECIAL LOW PRICE ON OUR UPCOMING BOOK DURING THE FIRST WEEK!

- CLICK HERE

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• How growing up in war torn Lebanon influences the way Nigol filters market decisions
• The challenging nature of a market injected with federal liquidity
• Nigol’s strategies for selecting position sizing
• Drawdown expectations of Quest Partners
• How Quest works to maintain a balance in the working environment and how busy the team stays
• How Nigol manages emotional turmoil of drawdowns and how he projects this calmness upon his investors
• The few things that Nigol predicts would shake their strategy
• How to listen to clients and use their advice in a way that serves them, even if you don’t implement exactly what they’re saying
• Why mathematician optimization can adversely effect the strength of your CTA strategy
• How Nigol expects to know if a model is working or not
• The importance of using math as little as possible despite the systematic approach to trading
• A fascinating perspective on why the CTA industry AUM has shifted to Europe
• The most important question investors should be asking: “How to price tail risk.”
• What it takes to build a firm and become the next Quest
• Learn all about Nigol’s daily meditation practice which he credits as his top personal attribute to becoming a great trader
• The most challenging thing about being a CTA for Nigol (A: Fishing in a very small pond)
• Nigol’s biggest failure which occurred in 2009

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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 [email protected]

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 Nigol Koulajian on Linkedin.

Copyright © 2026 – 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

Privacy Policy

Disclaimer

Want to build a computer that makes money?

Quest Partners LLC has a long, robust track record with their systematic trading approach.

They utilize a different strategies from many of their peers and have diversified their product range to include equity programs both hedge and long only.

At the core of it all is their philosophy on focusing on what investors need. They provide solutions for investors rather than a purist strategy.

Leading the way is our next guest on Top Traders Unplugged, Nigol Koulajian.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• How growing up Armenian provides a filter for the way Nigol perceives the markets
• His experience at Anderson Consulting and how he ended up working with Solomon Brothers by chance
• Why Nigol spend time at Colombia Business School programming and building models
• What Nigol thinks of Value at Risk
• How Nigol found himself as a risk arbitrage manager despite his passion for CTA strategies
• How Nigol navigated beneficial detours before finally partnering to co-found Enterprise Asset Management in 1994
• About the founding and growth of Quest Partners from inceptions in 2001 to +760$ million in 2014
• The dangers of an increased correlation between alternative strategies designed to protect against trouble in traditional investment and the traditional asset classes themselves
• Learn about self reinforcing feedback loop and how managers of growing AUM are forced to allocate to factors that are doing well (but perhaps doing well by chance)
• About the tight, automated business infrastructure of Quest Financial Partners
• About the shift in volatility expansion and how to measure it

Resources & Links Mentioned in this Episode:

• Investors Business Daily – The finance newspaper which inspired Nigol in the early days
• 3 Research Pieces from Quest that specifically examine factor drifts that could effect the returns of CTAs
• Learn about Sharpe Ratio
• A specific trading model that trades the S&P and 30Y Bonds if it’s down 3 days in a row, with a stop-loss and profit target (Full testing and code in the link).
• BTOP50 – the index that seeks to replicate the overall composition of the managed futures industry with regard to trading style and overall market exposure
• Learn about David Harding, one of the largest alternative investment managers in the world
• Read this interesting article about transcendental meditation and Nigol
• Nigol’s Foundation to promote studies on eastern religious philosophies and Yoga

Follow Niels on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or via the TTU website.

Follow Nigol Koulajian on Linkedin.

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 “The Many Flavors of Trend Following” here.

Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.

Send your questions to [email protected]

And please share this episode with a like-minded friend and leave an honest rating & review on iTunes so more people can discover the podcast.

How would it feel to identify trades no one else you know is looking for?

Our guest is back and this interview is all about carry trades, mean reverting environments, merger arbitrage, volatility arbitrage, tail hedges and how to become the best trader possible. It’s quite likely there is something in this interview which will help propel you forward as a hedge fund manager or in your research of managers.

Welcome back to the second part of our interview with Chief Excutive Officer of Future Value Capital, Roman Lutz.

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JOIN THE TREND FOLLOWING MANIFESTO BOOK LAUNCH LIST TO GET SPECIAL LOW PRICE ON OUR UPCOMING BOOK DURING THE FIRST WEEK!

- CLICK HERE

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Simple Models used by Future Value Capital to implement trend following
• How they utilize carry trades
• The third area of models: Tail Hedges
• Learn about how to carry potentially large value variance swaps while keeping the premium for holding them down
• Where the variance exchange swaps derive from whether from OTC with counterparts or constructed using exchange listed products
• Learn about Credit Support Annex (CSA)
• Risk management procedures at Future Value Capital
• The purpose for tactical asset allocation meetings and the decisions that are made
• The common performance drivers and if there is a dominant part of the portfolio that is responsible for the performance
• How Roman translates the complex trading strategy of Future Value Capital to investors
• How Future Value Capital implements trades and why they consider it a key strength of their program
• How much AUM would be optimal running the program or if the potential is unlimited
• How to create certainty around the risk Future Value Capital holds and how they define that risk
• What Roman Lutz considers to be one of the riskiest thing that could happen in the financial system
• What to expect in terms of returns and drawdown when investing in Future Value Capital
• How to realize when a model is no longer working
• Personal habits that contribute to Roman’s success in managing a hedge fund

-----

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 [email protected]

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 Roman Lutz on Linkedin.

Copyright © 2026 – 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

Privacy Policy

Disclaimer

Can you implement well established hedge fund strategies in a systematic way?

Future Value Capital has been researching this for years, before they started trading. They are unique because of  how they simplify and automate complex Risk Premia.

But we aren’t the best at explaining their systems. Roman Lutz, the Chief Financial Officer of Future Value Capital will explain it all in this interview.

-----

JOIN THE TREND FOLLOWING MANIFESTO BOOK LAUNCH LIST TO GET SPECIAL LOW PRICE ON OUR UPCOMING BOOK DURING THE FIRST WEEK!

- CLICK HERE

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• About Merger Arbitrage and How investors can Profit
• What criteria they look for in mergers, such as Market Cap, Deal Size, Liquidity etc.
• What currency markets Future Value Capital enters
• The app. 15 strategies they use and how many sub strategies they may have
• The origin stories of where the Future Value Capital strategy derived from.
• Understanding the typical way to build a derivative business
• Why the average correlation of a hedge fund with equities has shifted from 0.6 to 0.9 from the 1990’s to today.
• How Scottish Whiskey tasting can kickstart long term business relationships
• Addressing the “Black Box” label that many systematic programs has
• What environment Future Value Capital’s systems are best suited to operate within
• The business structure of Future Venture Capital and the alliance with Trium Capital
• About the post Madoff and additional regulatory environment investors are operating in
• How Roman Lutz developed the shared business management and split the overhead cost with other emerging fund managers
• The negative side effects of sharing hedge fund management business practices with other firms
• A ballpark figure for the cost of being part of the Trium Manager Alliance and get the services required to be able to operate as a regulated and well run firm
• How Roman and partners develop new plans in regards to where the economy is going and how to develop plans to manage funds going forward
• How merger arbitrage and volatility arbitrage connect implied and realized volatility
• How to buy realized volatility
• When to deploy and when not to deploy the realized volatility trades (when volatility starts to trend)
• Main categories from a strategy point of view – Trend Following for example
• How Future Value Capital uses trend following

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Resources & Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Listen to the past episode with Marty Bergen from Dunn Capital mentioned in regards to the higher correlation between traditional alternative investment space and the traditional assets.

Lars Jaeger owner of Alternative Beta Partners – Wrote extensively about the lack of alpha to people hunting it. 4x more assets are looking for alpha than alpha is available in the market.

Listen to our previous guest Karsten Schroeder from Amplitude Capital on the value of systematic trading vs. discretionary

Learn more about the determining implied market volatility with VIX

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 [email protected]

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 Roman Lutz on Linkedin.

Copyright © 2026 – 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

Privacy Policy

Disclaimer

Imagine if your assets under management went from $721 million to $50 million….

Would you have the courage to stick with your system?

Our next guest was able to weather that storm and come out even stronger. In fact, he gives credit to the fall in assets because it was an important component to improving their processes and efficiency today.

We’re excite to share with you, the second part of my interview with CEO of Systematic Alpha Management, Peter Kambolin.

-----

JOIN THE TREND FOLLOWING MANIFESTO BOOK LAUNCH LIST TO GET SPECIAL LOW PRICE ON OUR UPCOMING BOOK DURING THE FIRST WEEK!

- CLICK HERE

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• How many markets Peter trades and the number of different spreads
• The three points during a day in which volatility is elevated
• What triggers an exit from a trade when profit levels haven’t been reached
• How Systematic Alpha Management makes decisions relating to sizing market positions
• The number of daily trades Systematic Alpha implements
• How much of the P/L comes from the hedge component of spread decisions
• What kind of Risk Budgets that Systematic Alpha Management runs
• How to drawdown profile has changed over the last few years
• Estimating and predicting Black Swan events
• How Peter personally balances the challenging feelings of managing a portfolio in drawdown
• Exploring mean reversion and how the hedge ratios change daily
• On the value of being located in the heart of New York
• The biggest challenge for Peter in running Systematic Alpha Management
• Peter’s opinion on why success in the CTA industry has shifted from the United States of America to Europe
• Why individuality is critical in success in the CTA industry
• Peter Kambilin’s biggest failure and what he learned from it
• Some fun facts about Peter that you probably would never have guessed

-----

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 [email protected]

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 Peter Kambolin on LinkedIn.

Copyright © 2026 – 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

Privacy Policy

Disclaimer

Peter Kambolin is the common sense CEO behind Systematic Alpha Management, an Award Winning CTA Firm which has come through the tremendous market forces of the past 10 years. Their staying power is a testament to their success as conscious, ruled based traders.

This episode is about his hero’s journey from immigrant origins in Moscow to founding a lasting, top financial service company headquartered in New York City.

-----

JOIN THE TREND FOLLOWING MANIFESTO BOOK LAUNCH LIST TO GET SPECIAL LOW PRICE ON OUR UPCOMING BOOK DURING THE FIRST WEEK!

- CLICK HERE

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• About the effect of the 2004 internet bubble and how Systematic Alpha created a “market neutral” CTA strategy in response
• What it’s like to win global CTA awards yet still have to hunt new business due to capital flows towards large investment firms
• Peter’s story of moving from Moscow to New York and how he entered the finance industry
• The surprising story of how Peter was inspired to start his own firm at 21 years of age
• How Peter and Alexi work together to maximize each others strengths, and control for each-other’s weaknesses
• About the transition from long term to short term CTA strategies
• Why living in New York yet playing in Miami helps stoke Peter’s creativity
• The story of the dramatic period of March-August 2011 in which they experienced a drawdown that let to a drop in AuM from 721 million to 50 million due to investor redemptions.
• The effects of the coordination of global economic decisions by government on volatility and it’s effect on the overall environment for Systematic Alpha Management’s CTA programs.
• Why Peter considers Systematic Alpha to be a stronger firm after the steep drop in AUM they experienced in 2011.
• Where Systematic Alpha’s value proposition is and the importance of a CTA position in diversification
• How to get out of losing trades when liquidity is a problem

-----

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 [email protected]

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 Peter Kambolin on LinkedIn.

Copyright © 2026 – 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

Privacy Policy

Disclaimer

Welcome back to Top Traders Unplugged. On this episode Karsten and I discuss the systems and implementation that has led Amplitude to such remarkable success. As the interview comes to a close, we learn about Karsten’s philosophy of success and entrepreneurship. Despite being based outside the global financial hubs (i.e. New York, Chicago, London) Amplitude has experienced world class results. He provides a deep philosophy on achieving success in the CTA industry.

-----

JOIN THE TREND FOLLOWING MANIFESTO BOOK LAUNCH LIST TO GET SPECIAL LOW PRICE ON OUR UPCOMING BOOK DURING THE FIRST WEEK!

- CLICK HERE

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Allocation of capital from a stop-loss point of view when doing short term trading
• Amplitude Capital’s systems for trade implementation
• Why high frequency trading is a very different strategy from that of Amplitude Capital’s
• Risk management strategies and the framework for embedding these principles into the Amplitude Capital operations
• Exploring the meaning of market correlation in short term CTA strategies
• Karsten Schroeder’s philosophy on drawdowns
• How managers can do a better job of explaining drawdowns
• The role of teamwork and processes in the research cycle
• The internal processes for validating implementation of strategies at Amplitude Captial
• Karsten Schroeder’s explanation for why Amplitude has experienced such success
• Do financial leaders need to live in financial hubs? How living outside of the financial hubs has impacted Amplitude Capital
• The difference between European CTA managers and US counterparts. Why has the market dominance shifted?
• The philosophy of failure that empowers Karsten Schroeder’s entrepreneurial journey
• What continues to inspire Karsten to keep running the business
• The question investors are not asking that they should be:

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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 [email protected]

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 Karsten Schroeder on Linkedin.

Copyright © 2026 – 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

Privacy Policy

Disclaimer

Through courage and vision, Karsten Schroeder co-founded Amplitude Capital as a pioneer in the CTA industry.

Why pioneers? Because they focused on short term trading.

In this episode of Top Traders Unplugged, Karsten and I discuss Amplitude Capital’s scientific approach to Amplitude Dynamic and Amplitude Klassik. These are the two short-term rule based trading programs that Karsten and his team run to invest billions of dollars on behalf on a small group of institutional investors.

-----

JOIN THE TREND FOLLOWING MANIFESTO BOOK LAUNCH LIST TO GET SPECIAL LOW PRICE ON OUR UPCOMING BOOK DURING THE FIRST WEEK!

- CLICK HERE

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• The founding story of Amplitude Capital
• About the motivation source for choosing short term trading
• The scientific processes guiding Amplitude’s perception of the markets
• How Amplitude manages their in-house and outsourced business processes
• Where the point of optimal capital under management is for Amplitude Capital
• A bird’s eye view of their historical track record and their reaction to the market shift in 2009
• On the effects of quantitative easing and other government interventions in market health
• Model decay and how to best deal with it
• The design structure of Amplitude Capital’s Programs
• Market dynamics and where the Amplitude programs trade
• Differing philosophies: market specific models vs. models for all markets
• Comparing mean reversion models (counter trend models) vs. trend following models

-----

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 [email protected]

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 Karsten Schroeder on Linkedin.

Copyright © 2026 – 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

Privacy Policy

Disclaimer

Today we will continue our conversation with Jerry Parker the founder of Chesapeake Capital and widely known as the most successful Turtle ever.

After wrapping up his position with Richard J. Dennis as a famous “Turtle,” he went on to start his own asset management firm, Chesapeake Capital Corporation.

In this episode we discuss the evolving CTA industry and the story of Chesapeake. It’s a powerful story from one of the most successful people in the industry. We really hope you enjoy it.

-----

JOIN THE TREND FOLLOWING MANIFESTO BOOK LAUNCH LIST TO GET SPECIAL LOW PRICE ON OUR UPCOMING BOOK DURING THE FIRST WEEK!

- CLICK HERE

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• How the research and complexity of systems has a backwards effect to making money
• Challenges with entering stock markets with CTA strategies
• Why counting the trades and analyzing sample size is what most investors forget to ask when seeking fund managers
• Where the CTA managers have failed investors
• How Jerry Parker handles emotions during drawdowns
• Why markets have changed so that longer term focus has proven more successful
• Learn about the philosophy of “The Markets are the Heroes”
• Important lessons from a long, successful career in the CTA industry
• What is it that keeps investors from Turtle CTAs and choose larger financial organizations
• Why we see a skewed distribution towards profitability of long side trades and short side trades
• The key legacy traits left behind by the Turtles and if the experiment could be replicated now
• Why Jerry Parker’s contribution to the CTA space will be that he sticks with the plan and be the last one going down with the trend following ship
• Lessons for upcoming CTA managers from Jerry Parker
• Debunking trading cliches like, “you never go broke taking a profit” and “exits are more important than entries”
• Personal habits that have contributed to Jerry Parker’s success
• How Jerry Parker would start if he were to start all over again

-----

Resources & Links Mentioned in this Episode:

• Ray Dalio – Bridgewater Capital
• Learn about Jerry Parker’s Acting “Career” on his IMDB page

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 [email protected]

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 Jerry Parker on Twitter.

Copyright © 2026 – 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

Privacy Policy

Disclaimer

Imagine you found an advertisement in the newspaper offering a position with a one sentence application process.

Would you take it?

What if it was for a position where you would learn a proprietary trading system in which you would trade solely for owner of the firm?

What if that man was Richard Dennis?

Our next guest took that position in 1983 and it changed his life forever, for the better. He found himself with what was to become a famous title, a Turtle. He was given the opportunity to manage a million dollar account with specific rules to follow. Rules that he would learn to love and perfect.

-----

JOIN THE TREND FOLLOWING MANIFESTO BOOK LAUNCH LIST TO GET SPECIAL LOW PRICE ON OUR UPCOMING BOOK DURING THE FIRST WEEK!

- CLICK HERE

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• About the Turtles and how the unique experiment grew into the Managed Futures/CTA Industry
• How Wall Street Leaks inspired Jerry into understanding the industry
• How Jerry encountered trend following for the first time
• The One Sentence culture in Richard J. Dennis’s office
• How to excel at unprecedented tests from leading traders
• What it was like moving to Chicago to train as a Turtle
• What the Turtle training was like and the mindset provided in the training
• The most challenging thing about Trend Following when Jerry started with Richard Dennis
• About the transition from Turtle Trading to starting his own organization, Chesapeake Capital in 1998
• The evolution of Chesapeake’s strategy from day one after leaving Richard Dennis’s program
• The early focus on diversification and adding new markets
• Issues with trying to improve the original Richard Dennis
• The shift in investor expectations with the growth of institutional investment organizations while operating on of the largest CTA firms in the industry
• Why it’s best to take an optimal loss rather than a small loss
• On the meaningfulness of track records and what else investors should be encouraged to explore when choosing an investment management decision

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The advertisement Jerry responded to in 1983:

Richard J. Dennis and CD commodities is accepting applications for the position of Commodity Future Trader to expand his established group of traders. Mr. Dennis and his associate will train a small group of applicants in his proprietary trading concepts. Successful candidates will then trade solely for Mr. Dennis. They will not be allowed to trade futures for themselves or others. Traders will be paid a percentage of their trading profits and will be allowed a small draw. Prior experience will be considered, but is not necessary. Applicants should send a brief resume with one sentence giving their reason for applying.

Resources & Links Mentioned in this Episode:

• The Barefoot Trader (Article about Richard Dennis in Wall Street Journal)
• Learn more about Richard J. Dennis the founder of the Turtle program

Follow Niels on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or via the TTU website.

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