Top Traders Unplugged

By Niels Kaastrup-LarsenBusiness News Investing Business News

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Top Traders Unplugged episodes

November 05, 2018 SI08: How to tell if you system has stopped working?
Welcome to The Systematic Investor series. It’s a great privilege for me to invite you to a behind the scenes conversation between some of my favorite systematic investors namely Jerry Parker and Moritz Seibert. We get on a “call” each week to discuss the events that took place through the lens of a Systematic Investor and how the trading strategies we work with are reacting. It’s a raw and honest exploration and we hope you will join and be part of.
-----
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 [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.
Episode TimeStamps:
00:00 – Intro
00:50 – Weekly recap of performance
20:15 – Top tweets
38:50 – Question 1: Kyle; What’s the preferred method of dynamically adjusting/rebalancing a portfolio?
49:30 – Question 2: Dave; Please describe ways to reduce risk in drawdowns
52:50 – Question 3: Dimitry; What time frames do you consider too long to be effective (ex. quarterly)
57:45- Question 4: Dimitry; At what point in drawdown (%) do you say something is wrong with the system?
01:01:30 – Question 5: Robert; Do you typically trade the front month contract or use proprietary methods to select contracts?
01:04:30 – Benchmark performance update
Copyright © 2025 – 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
1 hr 8 min
October 31, 2018 Best of TTU – Turtle Trader Takeaways
It’s not often you get to sit down with a Turtle, let alone the father of the Turtle Experiment, and when I do I find it fascinating learning about the different experiences and outcomes that emerged from what really can be boiled down to 2 to 3 weeks of training in how to use trading rules to make money in the markets. What was truly unique about the conversation I want to share a few key takeaways from today, is that Richard Dennis was joined by two of his Turtles, namely Jerry Parker and Brian Proctor, where they shared some of their personal impressions from their time together…things that has not really ever been discussed publically. We even discussed their research in to “counter-trend” models…not something you would think the Turtles would spend time on…and of course just having Richard Dennis share his wisdom was huge. If you want to catch the full conversation then just click here
Turtle Takeaways

Niels: Brian and Jerry, what are the key takeaways from the whole Turtle experience when you think back on those years?
Jerry: Hmmm, the takeaways? I think I learned a lot and it was just a magical time. Those were four great years. I had no expectation of future business. I think we all would have been incredibly happy to continue managing money for Rich for the rest of our lives and that would have been a good idea.

"...is proper trading a real business?"

I think that some of the other guys that we competed against at other CTAs, in my opinion, probably did not have nearly the training and support that we had and yet they have large businesses. A lot of these guys went out together and worked together so I think that was maybe an opportunity that we missed - most of us going out on our own. So I really wish, in some kind of crazy way, that we had the best training, the best experience, the best four years that anyone could ever hope for, but I don't know that I personally...
I went to a good business school, even though it doesn't really look like it. Maybe part of my problem was that... I suggested a question for Rich because I've asked this question many times to myself (maybe it's a bad question) but, is proper trading a real business? To some degree, I've tried to trade properly and not pay attention to clients as much as maybe I should have and not vol targeted and not taken profits and not made it a better experience. I think to some degree that was one of the Turtle characteristics that clients and others are going to lead you down the bad path so stick with your system. Stick with what you believe to be true, but maybe a little more compromise would have made me have a larger business.

Niels: Hmmm, yeah.
What about you, Brian?
Brian: I would say that the most important concepts and things that always resonated with me were that you just have to have really strict risk management, don't overtrade, take lots of losing trades, don't get out of your winning trades until the trend is confirmed that it's over.
I think risk management was rule/key concept number one. Then, concept number two was: keep looking at new systems, blending different values together, different timeframes, to see if you can come up with something better than you already have. So, we've invested a lot of money in our research infrastructure, and we're always searching for the next best, great systems. I think those were the two concepts that I took away from the Turtle program were system development and risk management.
Niels: Now, just going back to you, Rich. I can imagine you telling Jerry and Brian and all the other Turtles, "Trade small, follow the system, do the hard thing, do the right thing, and innovate and so on." What if you were to teach a Turtle Program today, would you teach them the same thing or is there anything different to what you would teach them in 2017?
Richard: Well,
10 min
October 31, 2018 Best of TTU – Turtle Trader Takeaways
It’s not often you get to sit down with a Turtle, let alone the father of the Turtle Experiment, and when I do I find it fascinating learning about the different experiences and outcomes that emerged from what really can be boiled down to 2 to 3 weeks of training in how to use trading rules to make money in the markets. What was truly unique about the conversation I want to share a few key takeaways from today, is that Richard Dennis was joined by two of his Turtles, namely Jerry Parker and Brian Proctor, where they shared some of their personal impressions from their time together…things that has not really ever been discussed publically. We even discussed their research in to “counter-trend” models…not something you would think the Turtles would spend time on…and of course just having Richard Dennis share his wisdom was huge. If you want to catch the full conversation then just click here
Turtle Takeaways

Niels: Brian and Jerry, what are the key takeaways from the whole Turtle experience when you think back on those years?
Jerry: Hmmm, the takeaways? I think I learned a lot and it was just a magical time. Those were four great years. I had no expectation of future business. I think we all would have been incredibly happy to continue managing money for Rich for the rest of our lives and that would have been a good idea.

"...is proper trading a real business?"

I think that some of the other guys that we competed against at other CTAs, in my opinion, probably did not have nearly the training and support that we had and yet they have large businesses. A lot of these guys went out together and worked together so I think that was maybe an opportunity that we missed - most of us going out on our own. So I really wish, in some kind of crazy way, that we had the best training, the best experience, the best four years that anyone could ever hope for, but I don't know that I personally...
I went to a good business school, even though it doesn't really look like it. Maybe part of my problem was that... I suggested a question for Rich because I've asked this question many times to myself (maybe it's a bad question) but, is proper trading a real business? To some degree, I've tried to trade properly and not pay attention to clients as much as maybe I should have and not vol targeted and not taken profits and not made it a better experience. I think to some degree that was one of the Turtle characteristics that clients and others are going to lead you down the bad path so stick with your system. Stick with what you believe to be true, but maybe a little more compromise would have made me have a larger business.

Niels: Hmmm, yeah.
What about you, Brian?
Brian: I would say that the most important concepts and things that always resonated with me were that you just have to have really strict risk management, don't overtrade, take lots of losing trades, don't get out of your winning trades until the trend is confirmed that it's over.
I think risk management was rule/key concept number one. Then, concept number two was: keep looking at new systems, blending different values together, different timeframes, to see if you can come up with something better than you already have. So, we've invested a lot of money in our research infrastructure, and we're always searching for the next best, great systems. I think those were the two concepts that I took away from the Turtle program were system development and risk management.
Niels: Now, just going back to you, Rich. I can imagine you telling Jerry and Brian and all the other Turtles, "Trade small, follow the system, do the hard thing, do the right thing, and innovate and so on." What if you were to teach a Turtle Program today, would you teach them the same thing or is there anything different to what you would teach them in 2017?
Richard: Well,
10 min
October 31, 2018 BO07: Cold Turtle Takeaways
It’s not often you get to sit down with a Turtle, let alone the father of the Turtle Experiment, and when I do I find it fascinating learning about the different experiences and outcomes that emerged from what really can be boiled down to 2 to 3 weeks of training in how to use trading rules to make money in the markets. What was truly unique about the conversation I want to share a few key takeaways from today, is that Richard Dennis was joined by two of his Turtles, namely Jerry Parker and Brian Proctor, where they shared some of their personal impressions from their time together…things that has not really ever been discussed publicly. We even discussed their research in to “counter-trend” models…not something you would think the Turtles would spend time on…and of course just having Richard Dennis share his wisdom was huge.
Listen to the full episode here.
-----
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 [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.
Copyright © 2025 – 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
10 min
October 29, 2018 07 The Systematic Investor Series – October 29th, 2018
Welcome to The Systematic Investor series. It's a great privilege for me to invite you to a behind the scenes conversation between some of my favorite systematic investors namely Jerry Parker and Moritz Seibert. We get on a "call" each week to discuss the events that took place through the lens of a Systematic Investor and how the trading strategies we work with are reacting. It's a raw and honest exploration and we hope you will join and be part of...not least by sending us questions that we can discuss. Please send your questions to [email protected]

Episode Summary
0:00 - Intro
1:15 - Weekly recap
8:30 - Discussion of recent articles
21:30 - Top tweets
36:10 - Question 1: Mohit; Discuss moving averages as a TF device; position sizing; correlations
43:20 - Question 2; Paul; How many investors are out there who use TF but their AUM doesn’t show up in the official industry AUM #s
47:10 - Question 3: John; Asked about industry jargon and definitions: alpha; smart beta, implied vol, crisis alpha, convexity
51:30 - Question 4: Mohit; Is looking at correlations in the rearview mirror fallible?
52:50 - Question 5: Dave; What is the average time in trade of winners in a medium-term system?
57:10 - Question 6: What software do you use for backtesting/system management?
1:01:40 - Performance recap
Subscribe on:
1 hr 5 min
October 29, 2018 07 The Systematic Investor Series – October 29th, 2018
Welcome to The Systematic Investor series. It's a great privilege for me to invite you to a behind the scenes conversation between some of my favorite systematic investors namely Jerry Parker and Moritz Seibert. We get on a "call" each week to discuss the events that took place through the lens of a Systematic Investor and how the trading strategies we work with are reacting. It's a raw and honest exploration and we hope you will join and be part of...not least by sending us questions that we can discuss. Please send your questions to [email protected]

Episode Summary
0:00 - Intro
1:15 - Weekly recap
8:30 - Discussion of recent articles
21:30 - Top tweets
36:10 - Question 1: Mohit; Discuss moving averages as a TF device; position sizing; correlations
43:20 - Question 2; Paul; How many investors are out there who use TF but their AUM doesn’t show up in the official industry AUM #s
47:10 - Question 3: John; Asked about industry jargon and definitions: alpha; smart beta, implied vol, crisis alpha, convexity
51:30 - Question 4: Mohit; Is looking at correlations in the rearview mirror fallible?
52:50 - Question 5: Dave; What is the average time in trade of winners in a medium-term system?
57:10 - Question 6: What software do you use for backtesting/system management?
1:01:40 - Performance recap
Subscribe on:
1 hr 5 min
October 29, 2018 SI07: What is; alpha, smart beta, implied vol, crisis alpha and convexity?
Welcome to The Systematic Investor series. It’s a great privilege for me to invite you to a behind the scenes conversation between some of my favorite systematic investors namely Jerry Parker and Moritz Seibert. We get on a “call” each week to discuss the events that took place through the lens of a Systematic Investor and how the trading strategies we work with are reacting. It’s a raw and honest exploration and we hope you will join and be part of.
-----
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 [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.
Episode TimeStamps:
00:00 – Intro
01:15 – Weekly recap of performance
08:30 – Discussion of recent articles
21:30 – Top tweets
36:10 – Question 1: Mohit; Discuss moving averages as a TF device; position sizing; correlations
43:20 – Question 2; Paul; How many investors are out there who use TF but their AUM doesn’t show up in the official industry AUM #s
47:10 – Question 3: John; Asked about industry jargon and definitions: alpha; smart beta, implied vol, crisis alpha, convexity
51:30 – Question 4: Mohit; Is looking at correlations in the rearview mirror fallible?
52:50 – Question 5: Dave; What is the average time in trade of winners in a medium-term system?
57:10 – Question 6: What software do you use for backtesting/system management?
01:01:40 – Benchmark performance update
Copyright © 2025 – 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
1 hr 5 min
October 25, 2018 107 The Bright Future of Trend Following with Jean Jacques Duhot of Arctic Blue Capital – 2of2
“It's all about learning and staying on the learning curve, that's the best advice you can give to your children.” - Jean Jacques Duhot (Tweet)
Moritz Seibert and I continue our conversation with Jean Jacques Duhot and further discuss his contrarian and multi-part model, how his management company has stayed lean, and how the due diligence of investors and managers has changed the trading space for the better. Listen in to learn the unique properties of Jean Jacques new equities program, what he sees in the future of trend following, and who has influenced him most.
Thanks for listening and please welcome our guest Jean Jacques Duhot.

Subscribe on:

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

How Jean Jacques knows when to change his position in his "all-in" approach
Why Arctic Blue's acquisition by H2O has been such a positive experience
How H2O is helping Arctic Blue stay lean and focused
What is unique about Arctic Blue's new equities program

“We look at volatility as being a very good measure of the risk and therefore, it is difficult to get confirmation of sustainable volatility regime versus the noise.” - Jean Jacques Duhot (Tweet)

What Jean Jacques defines as risk in his model
What excites and scares Jean Jacques about about the future
The most useful information Jean Jacques has learned about trend following

“On the daily basis, I think it's all about habits that create processes that help you to stick with a very disciplined approach.” - Jean Jacques Duhot (Tweet)

Why Jean Jacques believes the due diligence of managers by investors is the best it's been
What books Jean Jacques recommends for anybody in the trend following and investing space
Who influenced Jean Jacques in his journey into trend following

Connect with Arctic Blue Capital:
Visit the Website: Arctic Blue Capital
Call Arctic Blue Capital: +44 207 292 1608
E-Mail Arctic Blue Capital: [email protected]
Follow Jean Jacques Duhot on Linkedin
“The protection role and the ability to generate de-correlated returns by CT and trend following seems promising.” - Jean Jacques Duhot (Tweet)
31 min
October 25, 2018 107 The Bright Future of Trend Following with Jean Jacques Duhot of Arctic Blue Capital – 2of2
“It's all about learning and staying on the learning curve, that's the best advice you can give to your children.” - Jean Jacques Duhot (Tweet)
Moritz Seibert and I continue our conversation with Jean Jacques Duhot and further discuss his contrarian and multi-part model, how his management company has stayed lean, and how the due diligence of investors and managers has changed the trading space for the better. Listen in to learn the unique properties of Jean Jacques new equities program, what he sees in the future of trend following, and who has influenced him most.
Thanks for listening and please welcome our guest Jean Jacques Duhot.

Subscribe on:

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

How Jean Jacques knows when to change his position in his "all-in" approach
Why Arctic Blue's acquisition by H2O has been such a positive experience
How H2O is helping Arctic Blue stay lean and focused
What is unique about Arctic Blue's new equities program

“We look at volatility as being a very good measure of the risk and therefore, it is difficult to get confirmation of sustainable volatility regime versus the noise.” - Jean Jacques Duhot (Tweet)

What Jean Jacques defines as risk in his model
What excites and scares Jean Jacques about about the future
The most useful information Jean Jacques has learned about trend following

“On the daily basis, I think it's all about habits that create processes that help you to stick with a very disciplined approach.” - Jean Jacques Duhot (Tweet)

Why Jean Jacques believes the due diligence of managers by investors is the best it's been
What books Jean Jacques recommends for anybody in the trend following and investing space
Who influenced Jean Jacques in his journey into trend following

Connect with Arctic Blue Capital:
Visit the Website: Arctic Blue Capital
Call Arctic Blue Capital: +44 207 292 1608
E-Mail Arctic Blue Capital: [email protected]
Follow Jean Jacques Duhot on Linkedin
“The protection role and the ability to generate de-correlated returns by CT and trend following seems promising.” - Jean Jacques Duhot (Tweet)
Full Transcript
The following is a full detailed transcript of this conversion. Click here to subscribe to our mailing list, and get full access to our library of downloadable eBook transcripts!
Niels
…block trades that I think gives you an interesting new dimension versus the very traditional volume and open interest type of analysis.
Niels
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Mort
So, once you’ve opened a position and you’ve entered a position with a certain size, can that size change, or will it only change when you close the position, and you get a new signal?
JJ
No, no, that size can change. First, we should get stopped out, naturally, but also if you are reaching some partial profit taking based on the different scenarios of the expansion of the market, if you are speaking from the long side; or you have those several standard deviation types of movement in your favor where you think that’s the best way to maximize your profit and you exit everything, and you go to the sideline.
But also, you can have different intermediate steps based on the shape of the evolution where, basically, you can have a model that transforms itself from a short-term breakout model to a smaller short-term trend; i.e. after a breakout happens, and you reach a specific level where you think that the probability of mean reverting or observing further expansion, those probabilities are equal.
Then, that’s where you take your partial profit taking, and it’s in the second part where you are re-engineering your money management in order to consider that now you had enough P&L to be reinvested as a buffer to turn your model from a breakout to a tren...
31 min
October 25, 2018TTU107: The Bright Future of Trend Following ft. Jean Jacques Duhot of Arctic Blue Capital – 2of2
Moritz Seibert and I continue our conversation with Jean Jacques Duhot and further discuss his contrarian and multi-part model, how his management company has stayed lean, and how the due diligence of investors and managers has changed the trading space for the better. Listen in to learn the unique properties of Jean Jacques new equities program, what he sees in the future of trend following, and who has influenced him most.
-----
50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
How Jean Jacques knows when to change his position in his “all-in” approach
Why Arctic Blue’s acquisition by H2O has been such a positive experience
How H2O is helping Arctic Blue stay lean and focused
What is unique about Arctic Blue’s new equities program
What Jean Jacques defines as risk in his model
What excites and scares Jean Jacques about about the future
The most useful information Jean Jacques has learned about trend following
Why Jean Jacques believes the due diligence of managers by investors is the best it’s been
What books Jean Jacques recommends for anybody in the trend following and investing space
Who influenced Jean Jacques in his journey into trend following

-----

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 Jean Jacques on LinkedIn.
Copyright © 2025 – 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
31 min