TTU48: How to Understand a New Manager’s Track Record ft. Bastian Bolesta of Deep Field Capital – 2of2
Top Traders Unplugged
Niels Kaastrup-Larsen
4.8 • 715 Ratings
🗓️ 27 November 2014
⏱️ 80 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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 successful emerging manager today.
-----
50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- About the 23 potential markets that Bastian trades, and which ones are actually traded.
- How he uses a “bus stop” metaphor to explain which markets get picked for trading.
- How he views risk and how he deals with risk management.
- If there are certain markets that are better performing for his strategies than others.
- What kinds of drawdowns he expects his strategy to go through.
- The three different types of investors that come in to his fund.
- What he learns from drawdowns when they happen.
- About the research and futures development that his firm conducts.
- What the biggest challenges are today for his business.
- What reason investors give for not investing in his fund.
- What question investors are not asking in their due diligence.
- If he was starting out today, the things he would have done differently.
-----
Resources & Links Mentioned in this Episode:
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 Bastian Bolesta 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
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Developing a good understanding what actually happened in all these different market environments |
| 0:09.0 | and linking it back to performance in that particular environment so that the manager can explain |
| 0:15.0 | you why he actually make money in the particular environment, why he's expecting to make money |
| 0:20.1 | in such an environment again, spending |
| 0:22.4 | time on that, it saves him from disappointment, it saves an investor in case it's not his own |
| 0:28.1 | money, but he's working for a larger institution and investing money on behalf of the institution |
| 0:32.0 | and makes life easier for everybody. |
| 0:35.1 | And we have made the experience that the majority of investors just don't |
| 0:39.0 | have the time or don't take the time to develop my understanding there. How do you know if your |
| 0:44.5 | trading program is set up with the right models, systems or timeframes? How do you know if the |
| 0:51.5 | risk parameters you chose are the best? |
| 0:54.9 | How do you go from trading your own capital to suddenly managing external client assets? |
| 1:00.9 | These are big questions that most, if not all, new managers have to consider and decide upon. |
| 1:07.5 | And that's what we're talking about in today's episode of Top Traders Unplug. |
| 1:13.6 | Welcome back to Top Traders Unplugged, where the best traders in the world come to share |
| 1:18.1 | their experiences, their successes, and their failures. Let's rejoin the conversation with your |
| 1:23.2 | host, veteran hedge fund manager, Niels Kastrop Larson. |
| 1:41.6 | ...in-downside volatility in excess of 10% in a 1x version. |
| 1:46.9 | And if there's something highly profitable combination, but it does not meet this risk criteria, |
| 1:48.6 | it cannot be part of the portfolio. |
| 1:53.4 | So the little guy can jump as high as he wants and says, pick me, pick me. |
| 1:55.4 | If he, he might be highly profitable. |
... |
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.