ALO28: Why Hedge Funds Still Matter ft. Alexander de Bruin
Top Traders Unplugged
Niels Kaastrup-Larsen
4.8 • 712 Ratings
🗓️ 12 February 2025
⏱️ 60 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode, Alexander de Bruin, Head of Fund Research at Edmond de Rothschild, joins Alan Dunne to discuss the art and science of selecting managers and building portfolios of alternatives. Alexander shares insights from his background in convertible bond trading and how it has shaped his approach to allocating capital. The conversation explores the rapid growth of private markets, with a focus on the current opportunities in private credit. They also delve into Alexander's framework for constructing hedge fund portfolios, examining the role of multi-manager, multi-strategy funds compared to other diversifying strategies. Alexander provides a behind-the-scenes look at his manager due diligence process, including his unique approach of sitting on the trading floor with hedge fund managers to gain a deeper understanding of their strategies.
-----
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 info@toptradersunplugged.com
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 Alan on Twitter.
Episode TimeStamps:
02:26 - Introduction to Alexander de Bruin
09:08 - The clients and portfolios that Edmond de Rothschild
13:24 - Should the 60/40 portfolio be revamped?
15:45 - de Bruin's approach to implementing new strategies
19:46 - How de Bruin deal with the paranoia of something going wrong
22:33 - Is there a place for multi-strat approaches?
25:14 - The challenges of managing risk as a multi-strat manager
26:59 - How hedge funds deal with portfolio constraints
29:25 - Opportunities and risks in private markets
35:37 - How high yield portfolios are allocated
37:31 - Which managers do they prefer?
39:49 - How to assess hedge funds as a manager and vice versa
44:51 - How de Bruin uses his backgammon experience when selecting managers
47:54 - Move the managers to where there is more edge
50:05 - Where does the disappointment in hedge fund allocation stem from?
53:36 - Are hedge funds becoming more open to high volatility strategies?
54:49 - What are Edmond de Rothschild looking for in managers?
56:41 - Advice for other investors
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
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | As a baggammon player or a poker player, that's the mentality you have. |
| 0:14.0 | You're playing the odds and what you're trying to do is put the odds in your favor, on every move or every time you're playing. |
| 0:22.6 | And that's exactly what we look for from hedge fund managers. |
| 0:26.2 | We're not looking for guys who can hit the ball out of the ballpark every time, |
| 0:32.6 | but we're looking for guys who adjust incrementally have some kind of edge |
| 0:37.7 | and applying that |
| 0:38.9 | on a systematic or on a continuous |
| 0:41.5 | basis and trying to pick |
| 0:43.4 | up those pennies without taking |
| 0:45.5 | a massive risk. |
| 0:48.6 | Imagine spending an hour |
| 0:50.2 | with the world's greatest traders. |
| 0:52.5 | Imagine learning from their experiences, their successes, |
| 0:55.0 | and their failures. Imagine no more. Welcome to Top Traders Unplugged, the place where you can learn |
| 1:02.0 | from the best hedge fund managers in the world so you can take your manager due diligence |
| 1:07.0 | or investment career to the next level. Before we begin today's conversation, remember to keep two things in mind. |
| 1:13.6 | All the discussion we'll have about investment performance is about the past, |
| 1:17.3 | and past performance does not guarantee or even infer anything about future performance. |
| 1:22.3 | Also understand that there's a significant risk of financial loss with all investment strategies, |
| 1:26.6 | and you need to request and understand the specific risks from the investment manager |
| 1:31.2 | about their product before you make investment decisions. |
| 1:34.4 | Here's your host, veteran hedge fund manager, Nealz Kostrup Larson. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Niels Kaastrup-Larsen, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Niels Kaastrup-Larsen and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.