Niels Kaastrup-Larsen

Top Traders Unplugged

Business EN ↓ 947 episodes

Top Traders Unplugged is where the world’s best investors come to share how they think - not just what they trade. Hosted by Niels Kaastrup-Larsen, the show goes deep into systematic trend following, global macro, and the principles that drive long-term success. No forecasts. No fads. Just real conversations with hedge fund managers, economists, authors, and allocators - revealing the timeless ideas, mental models, and risk frameworks behind robust performance. If you're building resilient portfolios, allocating capital, or simply looking to cut through the noise - this is your edge. Clear thi...

Author

Niels Kaastrup-Larsen

Episodes

TTU72: Adding Value to Your System ft. Mike Shell of Shell Capital Management – 2of2 12.02.2015 1:11:41

In the second part of our talk with Mike Shell, we delve into the specifics of his program and why most of his clients have 100% of their investments with his firm. He discusses backtesting, risk management, and the differences between purely systematic systems and systems with a discretionary element. Listen in for an inside look at this fascinating firm. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AN...

TTU71: Why You Don’t Want Symmetry in Investing ft. Mike Shell of Shell Capital Management – 1of2 09.02.2015 1:10:51

Most trend following firms have clients that invest somewhere between 2 and 20% of their portfolio with that firm, but Mike Shell’s firm is different. His strategy is tailored to a specific customer, and almost all of his clients have their entire investment portfolios with his firm. We dive into the specifics of Shell Capital Management in this episode, and how Mike grew up in the southern&n...

TTU70: Market Intervention & The Effect on Trend Following ft. Marc Malek of Conquest Capital Group 05.02.2015 36:42

In this year-end review, Marc Malek explains why intervention in the markets affects trend following, but also why trend following strategies are not long volatility strategies. He discusses 2014 from the point of view of his firm, how his program did, and why he is excited about 2015. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE In This...

TTU69: Staying Agnostic in Your Allocation ft. Martin Lueck of Aspect Capital 04.02.2015 35:59

This year in review covers how Aspect Capital came out of 2014 with their best year ever as a company, and what they learned from the year. Martin Lueck discusses the events that made 2014 a roller coaster ride, as well as the importance of always staying agnostic in your allocation to different sectors. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS -...

TTU68: Keep The Long Term View in Mind When Investing ft. Mike Dever of Brandywine Asset Management 01.02.2015 27:34

On our next year-in-review, Mike Dever talks about how 2014 evolved for his firm and what they learned from the year. He discusses the changes they made to their program as well as the recent Swiss Franc move and what they learned from that. He also talks about why investors need to keep the long term view in mind when investing, and not re-evaluate the program every time the profits take a dip. -...

TTU67: Institutional Investors and CTAs: A Look Forward ft. Aref Karim of Quality Capital Management 29.01.2015 35:55

Aref Karim has been on the institutional investing side and the fund manager side for many years, so he has some great insights into how each group thinks and ways they can understand each other better. In this episode, Aref reviews 2014 from the perspective of QCM and discusses the research upgrades that the firm started to their program, and how they dealt with the events of the year, including...

TTU66: Trade Innovation for the future ft. Luc van Hof of Capital Hedge 28.01.2015 38:42

In this year-end review, Luc van Hof discusses what he learned from 2014 and how his firm innovated to create better gains for customers in 2015. He also talks about the Swiss Franc and why he was not trading it when the major move happened in 2015. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE In This Episode, You’ll Learn: The two progra...

TTU65: Trend Following Offers Diversification & Risk Mitigation ft. Jerry Parker of Chesapeake Capital 26.01.2015 35:22

Jerry Parker takes us inside 2014 for his firm, and how his models reacted to the Swiss Franc move in January of 2015. He looks at the year and makes a case for trend following as an asset class, as well as highlights what we can learn from a year like 2014. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE In This Episode, You’ll Learn: How t...

TTU64: The Trader-less Hedge Fund ft. Dave Sanderson of KFL Capital Management 23.01.2015 29:54

In this year-end-review, we take a look at how 2014 might be seen many years into the future. Is this when “trader-less” systematic trading caught on? We take you into the workings of a 1-year-old trading technology company, how they succeeded, and where they are going in the future. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE In This Ep...

TTU63: Every Assumption Should Be Questioned ft. Nigol Koulajian of Quest Partners 22.01.2015 37:26

In this year-end-review, we discuss the year for CTAs and short term traders, as well as the recent collapse of the Euro/Swiss Franc peg and how that affected the models of Quest Partners. Nigol discusses his goals and thoughts for 2015 and reflects on a 2014 that saw his firm start two new strategies and take in new investment. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FO...

TTU62: Why Huge Market Shifts Are Great Reminders ft. Scot Billington of Covenant Capital Management 20.01.2015 44:08

In this Year End Review, we discuss the major events and unexpected market trends in 2014 as well as the major Swiss Franc move at the start of 2015. Scot Billington discusses his firm’s performance what they learned from their losses and gains, and how they evolved their models. He also talks about why they were able to keep losses low in 2014. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-TH...

TTU61: CTAs as Portfolio Diversifiers ft Peter Kambolin of Systematic Alpha Management 20.01.2015 37:24

Peter Kambolin comes from the short term CTA space, and thus has a different perspective than some of our previous guests for our Year in Review theme this month. He discusses how the events in Crimea and Russia shaped markets, how divergence played a role, and how his firm made small changes to models and even added a new product line in 2014. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE...

TTU60: Understanding The Investor’s Perspective ft. Anders Lindell of IPM 19.01.2015 28:01

How do clients understand a trading strategy so that they stick by the firm in hard times? How do investors make sense of when things go well for the CTA industry. We dive into these questions and more on this next episode, a year-in-review from Anders Lindell of IPM. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE In This Episode, You’ll Le...

TTU59: The Return of Volatility ft. Bastian Bolesta of Deep Field Capital 15.01.2015 34:24

Bastian Bolesta reviews 2014 and details the ups and downs of the year for his firm and the managed futures industry as a whole. In this episode, he discusses the start to the year that he wants to forget, the return of seemingly normal volatility, and the profitable 4th quarter. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE In This Episod...

TTU58: Having the Discipline to Stay The Course ft. Chris Cruden of Insch Capital Management 15.01.2015 36:25

Our next Year-in-Review conversation comes from a manager who considers 2014 to have been a disappointing year for his firm. As a trend follower in the currency markets, Chris has unique insights into what shaped 2014 and how the next couple of years look for his industry. He also shares the importance of having discipline and sticking to your systematic models, which builds investor confiden...

TTU57: Why The Market Environment Looks Exciting For CTAs ft. Tim Pickering of Auspice Capital Advisors 14.01.2015 31:10

Our next year-in-review is from a recent guest who discusses the roller coaster feel to 2014, and why it was a good year for the CTA industry. He talks about what his firm learned from 2014 and why he is very excited about this year. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE In This Episode, You’ll Learn: The ups and downs of 2014 from...

TTU56: How to Educate Your Clients on Managed Futures ft. Karsten Schroeder of Amplitude Capital 13.01.2015 27:13

In this 2014 year-in-review, Karsten Shroeder looks at the CTA industry and give some advice on how to look at 2014 with a rational and objective eye. He also has insights into how 2015 will be for the CTA industry and how to educate more clients to the advantages of managed futures. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE In This Ep...

TTU55: Talking the Pulse on Long-Term Trend Following ft. Jason Gerlach of Sunrise Capital 12.01.2015 41:16

For January 2015, we will be revisiting with previous guests on the show to find out how their businesses grew and changed in 2014, and what the year was like overall for their industries. In our first Year-In-Review episode, Jason Gerlach, the first-ever guest of Top Traders Unplugged, looks at 2014 from a long-term trend following perspective. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-TH...

TTU54: What it Takes to Be an Entrepreneur ft. Tim Pickering of Auspice Capital Advisors – 2of2 29.12.2014 1:04:15

In the second part of our talk with Tim Pickering, we dive into the details of his firm and the challenges that he has to overcome as a business owner and entrepreneur. Tim has some valuable life lessons for managers who are just getting started. He also dives into the different ways investors should carry out their due diligence and why he wanted to become a manager in the first place. ----- 50 Y...

TTU53: Trend Following vs. Trend Capturing ft. Tim Pickering of Auspice Capital Advisors – 1of2 22.12.2014 1:05:36

What is the difference between simply following a trend and capturing it? Why is growth not consistent and gradual and why do we want it to be? Learn answers to these questions and more in this week’s episodes. Niels chats with the founder of a seasoned trend-follower in Canada, who knew he wanted to go into the financial markets since his university days. His story of working for large investment...

TTU52: Do Amazing Things Just By Showing Up ft. Rob Hartman of Pacific Capital Advisors – 2of2 18.12.2014 1:12:17

Rob Hartman knows that showing up is half the battle when it comes to work in any industry. But his viewpoint as a solo fund manager give us deep insight into the inner-workings of a firm and how it deals with drawdowns, track record, and investors’ questions. In Part 2 of our conversation with Rob, we dive into his models and programs and how each of them works. We also learn about Rob’s backgrou...

TTU51: Planning for Failure, Not Planning to Fail ft. Rob Hartman of Pacific Capital Advisors – 1of2 15.12.2014 1:13:14

In starting any business, you run into unexpected roadblocks and challenges, and you learn something from each mistake. Our next guest is the founder of a trading firm who has grown his business twice and learned how to overcome the barriers in his way. We can learn a lot from someone who is ready for the unexpected whether it is good or bad. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-...

TTU50: Why Optimism is Important ft. Dave Sanderson of KFL Capital Management – 2of2 04.12.2014 1:14:01

Welcome to Part 2 of our conversation with Dave Sanderson. In this episode we explore his trading program in detail, from the markets the firm trades to how they describe their program to investors. We also explore the challenges that he goes through as a business leader, dealing with drawdowns, and why optimism is so important to Dave. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES...

TTU49: Will Big Data Enable KFL to Predict the Future? ft. Dave Sanderson of KFL Capital Management – 1of2 01.12.2014 1:15:11

Our next guest on Top Traders Unplugged is the CEO and Co-Founder of KFL. In this episode we explore their trading strategy and uncover the fundamental differences between what they are doing that makes them so different from traditional alternative investment organizations. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE In This E...

TTU48: How to Understand a New Manager’s Track Record ft. Bastian Bolesta of Deep Field Capital – 2of2 27.11.2014 1:20:04

In the second part of our interview with Bastian, we talk about the ins and outs of his trading program and how they came to create the current trading system that they run now. Niels talks with Bastian about drawdowns, risk management, and how investors should read and understand a manager’s track record. Listen in to find out more about Deep Field Capital and learn what it takes to be an success...