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PODCAST

Top Traders Unplugged

Niels Kaastrup-Larsen

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

business investing

All Episodes

01:13:24

SI354: Everyone’s Different. Until They’re Not ft....

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/06/28

With markets drifting and conviction thinning, Rob Carver joins Niels to take stock of a moment that feels suspended... not quite crisis, not quite calm. They discuss why recent rule changes around bank capital and crypto assets may carry more weight than headlines suggest, and what falling shipping volumes might be whispering about global demand. Rob breaks down the math of drawdowns, the tension between Kelly sizing and real-world volatility, and how systematic managers can fool themselves into

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01:15:26

GM84: What Everyone Saw, but No One Priced ft. Bob...

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/06/25

Bob Elliott joins Cem Karsan and Niels Kaastrup-Larsen for a conversation about what happens when strong economic data masks a deeper structural shift. The income engine still runs, but tariffs, labor scarcity, and immigration limits are quietly rewiring the system. Inflation may not fall the way people expect. Profit margins may not hold. And capital may start flowing away from the US for the first time in a generation. This isn’t a cycle call. It’s a question of what kind of economy we are

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01:08:30

SI353: You Don’t Buy It for Returns. You Buy It...

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/06/21

Some of the most effective portfolio components may generate little or no return on their own. In this episode, Niels Kaastrup-Larsen and Yoav Git explore that discomfort - why allocators often overlook strategies that offer the most structural value. Through a series of new research papers, they examine how negative correlation, volatility, and capital efficiency can outweigh standalone performance, and why trend following continues to challenge conventional assumptions. It’s a conversation about

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01:01:55

GM83: The Risk We Forgot to Price ft. Barry Eichengreen

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/06/18

Barry Eichengreen joins Alan Dunne for a clear-eyed look at a system losing its anchors. The dollar’s standing, long insulated by trust and habit, now faces a different kind of test... one shaped less by challengers abroad than by fractures at home. They explore how rising debt, political entropy, and institutional strain are converging in ways that markets are only beginning to price. From the quiet retreat of safe haven flows to the uneasy future of central bank independence, this is a

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01:03:38

SI352: Trend Systems Under Strain ft. Nick Baltas

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/06/14

Nick Baltas is back with Niels for a conversation that sits at the intersection of technology, uncertainty, and discipline. As AI-generated data floods the system and market reversals grow sharper, the challenge isn’t just strategy design — it’s deciding what still counts as signal. They explore how systematic managers are rethinking volatility targets, why certain constraints persist in institutional portfolios, and what recent underperformance may actually be revealing. This episode is less about

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45:51

UGO03: This Isn’t 2008. That’s the Problem ft. Benn...

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/06/11

Back on the Cboe floor, Cem Karsan sits down with Benn Eifert to trace the fault lines shaping today’s volatility regime. They dig into why market structure, not just macro, is driving outcomes... from the reflexive cycles of implied vol to the growing influence of structured product flows and zero-day options. With correlations breaking down and dispersion rising, Benn makes the case that path matters more than magnitude. It’s a conversation about what happens when liquidity fragments, when the Fed

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01:08:49

SI351: The Two Tribes of Trend ft. Richard Brennan

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/06/07

As trend followers push through one of the toughest environments in years, Rich and Niels unpack what’s actually driving the pain. They draw a sharp line between two camps in the industry - those who focus on standalone market behavior and those who manage trend as a portfolio-level phenomenon, and explain why that distinction now matters more than ever. From the ripple effects of tariff policy to the quiet fragility in institutional positioning, this episode traces how structural shifts are

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01:06:37

OI16: Return Stacking: Form, Function & Friction ft....

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/06/04

Corey Hoffstein and Adam Butler joins to unpack the mechanics of stacking returns inside an ETF — not as a branding exercise, but as a way to navigate the hard constraints of scale, structure, and investor behavior. They break down how Return Stacked blends top-down replication with a bottom-up trend engine, why most investors misunderstand what replication actually captures, and where the fault lines lie between mutual funds and ETFs. From margin management and bid-offer spreads to the limits of

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01:04:55

SI350: Why All Roads Lead to Higher Yields ft. Alan...

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/05/31

Why are markets still priced as if the old world is coming back? Alan Dunne and Niels Kaastrup-Larsen examine the case for structurally higher yields — not as a risk, but as the regime. Drawing from Alan’s recent writing, they trace how debt levels, policy incentives, and investor complacency have converged into a feedback loop that central banks may no longer control. From Japan’s bond signals to the quiet retreat of fiscal discipline in the U.S., this episode maps a shift that’s already underway

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55:52

IL39: Is Trump Making Europe Great Again? ft. Koen De...

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/05/28

We're diving deep into some serious discussions about the shifting dynamics in Europe, particularly how the political landscape, especially with Trump's influence, is shaking things up. Economists Koen De Leus & Philippe Gijsels who authored a compelling book on the New World Economy, argue that Trump's policies might actually be a wake-up call for Europe, pushing it to innovate and stand on its own. We explore the concept of multi-globalization, where emerging markets are stepping into the

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01:06:21

SI349: Navigating the Age of Uncertainty with Trend...

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/05/24

In this episode, Niels and Mark Rzepczynski examine a market where the usual relationships have broken down. Bonds offer no shelter, volatility moves without conviction, and political intervention keeps distorting the signals investors rely on. What once served as protection now feels unreliable. Behind the headlines on tariffs, inflation, and eroding trust in institutions lies a deeper question about how to navigate when the frameworks built for one regime are carried into another. With a balance

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01:03:23

GM82: The Surprising Success of the U.S. Economy ft....

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/05/21

America's recent economic performance has been a surprise, as it's managed to outperform many other markets over the last quarter century. We review the insights from the Global Investment Returns Yearbook, discussing how the US has thrived and what that means for future investment strategies. Our guests, Elroy Dimson and Kiran Ganesh, share their expertise on market trends, the importance of diversification, and the implications of recent economic shifts. We also explore the complexities of factors

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01:15:10

SI348: The Quiet Cost of Overfitting ft. Andrew Beer

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/05/17

Andrew Beer returns to confront a moment of reckoning for trend following. As managed futures suffer one of their worst periods in decades, he and Niels explore a deeper question: has the strategy evolved in ways that undermine its edge? From the seduction of short-term models to the unintended consequences of complexity, this conversation traces how well-meaning enhancements may be compounding the very problems they aim to solve. Layer in political volatility, crowded positioning, and allocator

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01:03:46

UGO02: Inequality, Inflation, and the End of...

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/05/13

What if the volatility we’re seeing is not a pause in the cycle, but the start of something lasting? In this episode, Cem Karsan sits down with Jim Bianco to unpack the forces reshaping the market and the political landscape around it. From the roots of labor unrest in 1880s Chicago to rising tariffs and inflation today, they trace how decades of policy widened inequality and fractured the middle. This is a conversation about debt, power, and the limits of the old playbook. The Fed may no longer be

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01:07:31

SI347: Stagflation, Storytelling, and the Search for...

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/05/10

Today Cem and Niels dissect a world quietly shifting beneath our feet.As markets hum along, Cem explains why the real story lies beneath the surface: a structural liquidity drain, a creeping stagflation that defies familiar playbooks, and a political regime shift few are pricing in. From Buffett’s exit to dollar fragility, elite endowments tapping the bond market, and oil diplomacy with geopolitical undertones—this is a conversation about change in motion.But this episode doesn’t stop at markets

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01:03:17

GM81: What If Everything You Believe About Markets Is...

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/05/07

What if the biggest risk in markets today isn’t volatility, inflation, or geopolitics - but the stories we believe to be true? In this unfiltered and thought-provoking episode, Demetri Kofinas joins Cem Karsan and Niels Kaastrup-Larsen for a piercing conversation that challenges how we process information, construct narratives, and make decisions in uncertain environments. This isn’t about market forecasts - it’s about how easily our thinking can be hijacked. From the corrosive incentives of

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01:09:11

SI346: Is the Trend Still Your Friend ft. Rob Carver

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/05/03

This episode is all about understanding the nuances of trend-following and how current market dynamics are shaking things up. Together with Rob Carver, we discuss the turbulence that hit financial markets in April and how that affected Trend Followers, as well as how Rob navigated the last 12 months as a trend follower. Plus, we explore the intriguing topic of safe haven assets, questioning if traditional choices like U.S. treasury bonds still hold up under pressure. We also explore a paper that the

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01:11:13

IL38: Our Dollar, Your Problem ft. Kenneth Rogoff

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/04/30

What if the most dangerous thing in the global economy isn’t a shock — but the quiet collapse of the frameworks we still rely on?In this rare, unfiltered conversation, Kenneth Rogoff — Harvard professor and former IMF Chief Economist — joins Kevin Coldiron to confront the reality that’s too uncomfortable for most policymakers to admit:The world has changed. The models haven’t.Rogoff explores what happens when inflation refuses to respond, debt compounds beneath the surface, AI reshapes productivity,

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01:08:00

SI345: From Chaos to Clarity: The Power of Systematic...

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/04/26

This episode is all about exploring the intricacies of market behavior, how trends shift, and what that means for our investment strategies. We’re having a serious chat about the impact of recent market fluctuations and how they influence our approaches to trend following. Together with Nick Baltas, we’ll touch on the dynamics of crowding in trades and how that shapes investor sentiment. So, grab your headphones and get ready for a straightforward, no-nonsense journey through the latest trends and

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42:50

OI15: Navigating the Commodity Markets with Calculo...

Top Traders Unplugged ·

2025/04/23

Today, we're diving deep into the world of commodities with Calculo Capital, a short-term quantitative hedge fund based in Denmark. Our guests, Philip Engel Carlsson and Ole Hansen, share their insights on how they navigate the fast-paced commodity markets using machine learning techniques. We explore how their focus on liquid markets and short holding periods allows them to capitalize on price movements driven by supply and demand imbalances. The conversation also touches on the current trends in

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894 results

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