SI232: Trend Following the Trend Followers ft. Nick Baltas
Top Traders Unplugged
Niels Kaastrup-Larsen
4.8 • 712 Ratings
🗓️ 26 February 2023
⏱️ 69 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today, Nick Baltas return to the show following a head scratching period for inflation and interest rates the past few weeks. We discuss the state of the environment for trend following and the best way to select a portfolio of markets to trade, the pros and cons of "trend following the trend followers". We also reflect on Katy Kaminski’s take on Crisis Alpha and discuss the evolution of trend following and how it changes the way strategies are designed, why being too concerned about the Sharpe may impact your performance in unexpected ways and why it is important to be aware of your own biases and much more.
-----
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 Nick on Twitter.
Episode TimeStamps:
02:04 - Market recap
04:21 - Reflecting on the TTU CTA Series
09:10 - What has caught Nick's attention recently?
13:17 - Industry performance update
15:53 - Q1, Adam: Regarding applying systems to markets
23:41 - Q2, Tim: Thought on trend following the trend followers?
30:39 - Q3, Tim: Nick's thoughts on tracking the AUM?
37:19 - Crisis alpha - lost in translation?
49:43 - How trend following has evolved
53:44 - Are we too concerned about the Sharpe?
58:55 - Changing the narrative
01:05:02 - Trend following disagreements
01:07:29 - Thanks for listening
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 | You're about to join Neil's Kostrup Larson on a raw and honest journey into the world of systematic investing |
| 0:07.2 | and learn about the most dependable and consistent yet often overlooked investment strategy. |
| 0:13.2 | Welcome to the Systematic Investor Series. |
| 0:26.7 | Welcome all welcome back to this week's edition of the Systematic Investor series with Nick Baltas and I, Neil's Castroblaston, where each week we take the pulse of the global markets |
| 0:30.4 | through the lens of a rules-based investor. |
| 0:33.4 | If you are new to the show, I hope that today's episode will trigger your curiosity enough |
| 0:37.3 | to check out the back catalogue and listen to the past episodes that you may have missed, like my conversation with Rich last week, where we went into a lot of details as to how to avoid overfitting your trend following models when designing your strategies. |
| 0:51.4 | And also allow me to encourage you to check out the CTA series where Alan and I |
| 0:55.9 | have managed to line up the real decision makers at most of the largest CTAs in the world |
| 1:00.7 | for some very meaningful conversations on many of the most important topics concerning our |
| 1:05.9 | rules-based approach to investing. So I hope you will enjoy and appreciate all the time and |
| 1:10.6 | access we have been given by these true industry leaders. So I hope you will enjoy and appreciate all the time and access we have been |
| 1:12.0 | given by these true industry leaders. So head over and check out these conversations after you've |
| 1:18.2 | done listening to Nick and me today. Nick, it's great to be back with you this week. It's been a little |
| 1:24.1 | while. How are you doing on this Saturday morning in February? |
| 1:31.3 | I'm doing very well, Niels, and thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be back to the show, |
| 1:37.6 | I must say. I'm doing very well. It's a very heavy traveling period for me, and up until the end of March. I'll be going around the globe, seeing investors, speaking to clients and so on and so |
| 1:41.9 | forth. So at the very least a Saturday, with family at home, it's all I'm asking for. |
| 1:47.7 | Exactly, yes. |
| 1:49.0 | Yeah, no, I'm doing well. |
| 1:50.1 | Same kind of situation. |
| 1:51.7 | Lots of traveling at the moment. |
... |
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.

