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

TTU22: The Most Important Question Investors Should be Asking ft. Nigol Koulajian of Quest Partners – 2of2 14.08.2014 1:13:08

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 th...

TTU21: Building a Computer That Makes Money? ft. Nigol Koulajian of Quest Partners – 1of2 11.08.2014 1:09:28

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 ...

TTU20: How to Identify Trades No One Else is Looking For ft. Roman Lutz of Future Value Capital – 2of2 07.08.2014 1:01:20

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 researc...

TTU19: How to Take the Emotions out of Investment Decisions ft. Roman Lutz of Future Value Capital – 1of2 04.08.2014 1:02:56

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...

TTU18: Estimating & Predicting Black Swans ft. Peter Kambolin of Systematic Alpha Management – 2of2 31.07.2014 1:00:51

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 secon...

TTU17: Start Your Own Firm at 21 Years of Age? Russian CEO Tells All ft. Peter Kambolin of Systematic Alpha Management – 1of2 28.07.2014 1:05:07

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 financi...

TTU16: You Can’t Learn This In A Book! ft. Karsten Schroeder of Amplitude Capital – 2of2 24.07.2014 44:47

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 re...

TTU15: Model Decay & How Best to Handle It ft. Karsten Schroeder of Amplitude Capital – 1of2 21.07.2014 46:41

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 h...

TTU14: “You’re going to make a lot of money doing this…” ft. Jerry Parker – 2of2 16.07.2014 1:07:59

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...

TTU13: Lessons From the Most Successful Turtle of All-Time ft. Jerry Parker – 1of2 13.07.2014 1:07:22

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 be...

TTU12: The Philosophy, Habits and Personal Traits Required to Excel in the Hedge Fund Industry ft. Mathias Bucher of AllMountainCapital – 2of2 10.07.2014 46:56

Welcome back to Top Traders Unplugged. In this episode we continue our conversation with Dr. Mathias Bucher the Co-Founder of AllMountainCapital. In this episode we go deep in the philosophy, habits and personal traits required to excel in the hedge fund industry. It’s a pleasure to have you here and we hope you enjoy the episode. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: About Stop Loss, Risk Managemen...

TTU11: Lessons From a Highly Educated Founder & Fund Manager ft. Mathias Bucher of AllMountainCapital – 1of2 06.07.2014 46:06

Our next show provides you with the opportunity to learn from a highly educated founder and fund manager. He Studied Economics at the Luzon Universidad de Carlos III de Madrid. He went on to earn a PhD in Quantitative Finance in Evolutionary Finance at University of Zurich. Upon graduating he agreed to a research position with Zurich Capital Bank. Horizon21 made an offer to have Mathias...

TTU10: The Fairest Fee Structure in the Industry ft. Marty Bergin of DUNN Capital Management – 2of2 03.07.2014 39:52

What are you going to do to differentiate yourself from everyone else in the industry? That’s the question Marty Bergin would ask the next guest on Top Traders Unplugged. Welcome back for the second part of our interview with, Marty Bergin. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE In This Episode, You’ll Learn: How trade decision...

TTU09: 40+ Years of Trading & Still Making NEW Highs ft. Marty Bergin of DUNN Capital Management – 1of2 29.06.2014 39:44

Our next guest is a partner in a firm that has enjoyed 40+ years of trading success with a 35+ year continues track record of their WMA program. The track record of the organization, DUNN Capital Management, is world-class. The legendary Bill Dunn offered partnership to our next guest and he replied, “I’m happy with where I am.” Bill’s response will make you laugh. Please enjoy my conver...

TTU08: Key Traits to Success in the CTA Industry ft. Martin Estlander of Estlander & Partners – 2of2 26.06.2014 49:21

Today we rejoin the conversation with Martin Estlander the Founder and CEO of Estlander & Partners. If you missed the first part, feel free to listen to it here . In this episode we explore the evolution of the CTA industry, the skills required to run a successful business and finally the fun, less known facts of Martin’s life outside of trading. Welcome to the second part of ou...

TTU07: Inside Scandinavia’s Longest Running CTA Firm ft. Martin Estlander of Estlander & Partners – 1of2 22.06.2014 49:38

Estlander & Partners – The Oldest CTA firm in Scandinavia and one of the Longest Running CTA firms in the World.  Thank you for listening to my conversation with its founder Martin Estlander. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: How Martin got involved in the CTA Industry The Evolution of Estlander & Partners and Where They are Today Founding of an options trading business in Frankfurt in 1...

TTU06: Why Trend Following Systems Make Money Over Time ft. Tushar Chande – 2of2 12.06.2014 40:55

We’re back with the second part of our conversation with the Head of Research at Rho Asset Management. In this episode we discuss the details of Managing Equity Curves, Trade Length in CTA systems and how Rho achieves to get the optimal position size when entering new trades. Thank you for visiting, now let’s continue the interview with Tushar Chande. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: How Rho cr...

TTU05: What You Must Do To Survive In the CTA Business ft. Tushar Chande – 1of2 09.06.2014 42:49

On today’s show I am talking to Tushar Chande, Co-Founder and Head of Research at Rho Asset Management.  Tushar is also the author of a number of books on the topic of how to design rule based trading systems as well as having been actively trading these systems for more than 20 years. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE In...

TTU04: What it Takes to Become a Great Trader ft. Mike Dever of Brandywine Asset Management – 2of2 05.06.2014 44:10

In this episode we continue our conversation with the founder and CEO of Brandywine Asset Management and discuss the aspects of what makes his rule based asset management style so successful. Enjoy the second part of my conversation with, Mike Dever. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE In This Episode, You’ll Learn: Continui...

TTU03 How To Get Predictable Returns ft. Mike Dever of Brandywine Asset Management – 1of2 02.06.2014 58:44

On today’s show I am talking to Mike Dever, the Founder and CEO of Brandywine Asset Management.  Mike is a Divergent Thinking Systematic Investment Manager and Author of the best selling book “Jackass Investing”. Mike has been trading for almost 4 decades and shares a wealth of insight to how he has stayed successful and how his trading approach and research has stayed current in an ever chan...

TTU02: Why The Game of Picking Sectors is a Fool’s Errand ft. Jason Gerlach of Sunrise Capital Partners – 2of2 29.05.2014 1:02:42

Welcome back to our conversation with Jason Gerlach of Sunrise Capital Partners. In this interview we discuss the history of Sunrise Capital Partners, the current evolution in their financial product line and the inner workings of what it takes to make it as a successful trading organization in the ever changing market conditions. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO...

TTU01: Are Research Ideas Overrated? ft. Jason Gerlach of Sunrise Capital Partners – 1of2 26.05.2014 37:54

Sunrise Capital was the first CTA (Commodity Trading Advisor) ever. The company has evolved considerably since its inception in the 1970s. Today on the show, Jason Gerlach, the Chief Executive Officer at Sunrise Capital joins us to discuss the history of the company and about the evolution of their trading strategy over nearly 4 decades. Sunrise has achieved astounding results over the lifetime of...