Top Traders Unplugged

  “[Bill] thought he was the only person [using trend following], and to tell the truth, I’m not sure that he was completely confident that it worked." - Marty Bergin (Tweet) Our guest today is the President and Owner of DUNN Capital. Having a deep background in finance and business management, Marty oversees all mission-critical operations of the firm, including the firm’s research and development efforts as well as the construction and management of the firm’s managed futures portfolios. In our conversation, my co-host Katy Kaminski and I discuss with Marty DUNN Capital's client-first business model, why he believes that their Adaptive Risk Profile has been a game-changer since its introduction in 2013, and how DUNN Capital has evolved since he joined more than 20 years ago. Thanks for listening and please welcome our guest Marty Bergin. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: How Bill Dunn started DUNN Capital “Bill and I are true believers that it’s the people that makes the business.” - Marty Bergin (Tweet) How Marty minimizes risk down to the base level What lessons Marty has learned from his time at DUNN Capital Why Marty believes being client-centric is key to DUNN Capital’s success “Bill always said he was on the same side of the table as the client.” - Marty Bergin (Tweet) How research plays a larger role within DUNN Capital than most people think How DUNN Capital has changed since Marty joined How Marty views return dispersion “If all the stocks are highly correlated, aren’t you really only invested in one thing?” - Marty Bergin (Tweet) Why certain “diverse” stock choices are not very diverse What makes DUNN's Adaptive Risk Profile unique The one thing that is missing from Marty’s trend following program   Connect with DUNN Capital: Visit the Website: www.dunncapital.com Call DUNN Capital: + 1 (772) 286-4777 E-Mail DUNN Capital: info@dunncapital.com   "The big houses make more money off the management fee than they ever will off the incentive fee, and they know that.” - Marty Bergin (Tweet)

  “Always be paranoid about [your strategies], and always be paranoid about every part of it." (Tweet) Top Traders is bringing you Top Traders Round Table, a series of conversations with industry leaders on the subject of Managed Futures. On this special episode, my guests are the founders of AHL: Michael Adam who later co-founded Aspect Capital, David Harding also known as founder and CEO of Winton Capital and Marty Lueck also one of the co-founders of Aspect Capital. We sat down in the famous Abbey Road Studios in London to talk about how they developed their investing strategies, some of the most surprising decisions they ever made, and what kind of legacy they would like to leave behind. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: What Mike, David & Marty had to un-learn in order to improve their strategies Why David believes education can crush creativity How some “new” optimization methods hurts investors What David and Marty least like about their current strategies What they plan on doing when they no longer run their firms How David approaches succession planning The most important investment principles the guests would leave for their children Why only a small amount of investors still keep managed futures as a core allocation The most important decisions they ever made Which decisions had the most surprising results If the media will ever understand what managed futures actually are The legacy that AHL left in the world of investing This episode was sponsored by CME Group: Connect with our guests:   Learn more about Michael Adam and Mike Marlin and The Melomaniacs Learn more about David Harding and Winton Group Learn more about Marty Lueck and Aspect Capital “The reason the systematic trading business is successful is not just because of the founder, it’s the ability of the founder to organize a business that has a way of doing things that is indeed systematic." - (Tweet)

  “That’s the challenge you face in systematic trading: it’s not to be really, really good, it’s not to be useful." (Tweet) Top Traders is bringing you Top Traders Round Table, a series of conversations with industry leaders on the subject of Managed Futures. On this special episode, my guests are the founders of AHL: Michael Adam who later co-founded Aspect Capital, David Harding also known as founder and CEO of Winton Capital and Marty Lueck also one of the co-founders of Aspect Capital. We sat down in the famous Abbey Road Studios in London to talk about what AHL's founders did after they created the company, what they've learned along the way about business and life, and how they view the current market climates. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: The future of a science-driven trading approach What David’s vision was when he started Winton Capital The beginnings of Aspect Capital Why Winton moved away from traditional trend following The challenges that equities and managed futures present for investors Why David chose to lower volatility of his strategy Michael’s experience with deep value investing When it’s time to ask “do you want to be happy or rich?” What caused Michael to leave the industry How they have evolve using different data sources and new markets The danger of “hindsight bias” What disadvantages machine learning have presented Why Marty views asset allocation as part of a trend following model How they see our current financial climate This episode was sponsored by CME Group: Connect with our guests:   Learn more about Michael Adam and Mike Marlin and The Melomaniacs Learn more about David Harding and Winton Group Learn more about Marty Lueck and Aspect Capital “Markets are neural networks, they are hundreds of thousands of people motivated to make money." - (Tweet)

  "I do remember us having conversations about building something that would outlast us, but I don’t think we thought too hard about whether it would or not." (Tweet) Top Traders is bringing you Top Traders Round Table, a series of conversations with industry leaders on the subject of Managed Futures. On this special episode, my guests are the founders of AHL: Michael Adam who later co-founded Aspect Capital, David Harding also known as founder and CEO of Winton Capital and Marty Lueck also one of the co-founders of Aspect Capital. We sat down in the famous Abbey Road Studios in London to talk about AHL's beginnings, the revolutionary discoveries that AHL made, how MAN Group became the owner of AHL, as well as all the great things that Michael, David and Marty went on to create. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: How AHL got it’s start Why Michael’s father was instrumental in the beginning of AHL What struck David when testing their early algorithms Why their “empiricist” outlook gave them an early advantage How technology’s limits pushed their ideas The breakthroughs of AHL’s early research and how it still applies today Why being a consultant gave AHL deep insight into trading the markets The crucial role the early clients had in AHL’s development The power of finding the right people to work with Why Michael preferred working with “unformed” employees How the original deal between MAN and MINT influenced AHL What the larger financial community initially thought about AHL How AHL brought in investors in those early days This episode was sponsored by CME Group: Connect with our guests:   Learn more about Michael Adam and Mike Marlin and The Melomaniacs Learn more about David Harding and Winton Group Learn more about Marty Lueck and Aspect Capital "At the beginnings of what we did, we didn’t make money as investment managers at all, we made money as consultants." - (Tweet)

  "You need to share the vision and have a vision as where the portfolio is going." (Tweet) Top Traders is bringing you Top Traders Round Table, a series of conversations with industry leaders on the subject of Managed Futures. On this episode my guests are Ryan Abrams, Portfolio Manager at Wisconsin Alumni Research Association, Ela Karahasanoglu, VP at Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and Carrie Lo, Director of Hedge Strategies at CalSTRS.   Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: When do you stop adding more managers? Ela’s magic range of managers Carrie’s approach to choosing managers How management fees should be structured What advice Carrie would give to other pensions planning to start allocating to risk mitigation strategies Why Ela recommends a thorough preparation and vision for risk mitigation strategies Ryan’s thoughts on trends during dislocation periods What challenges the guests had to overcome as part of their implementation process Why CalPERS are leaving hedge funds when CalSTRS are adding them, even when some of the board members are the same This episode was sponsored by CME Group: Connect with our guests: Learn more about Ryan Abrams and Wisconsin Alumni Research Association Learn more about Ela Karahasanoglu and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Learn more about Carrie Lo and CalSTRS "Having a consistent strategy and data to back that up is important." - (Tweet)

"Pointing to the dispersion of returns among managers, it’s really difficult to desegregate skill from luck." (Tweet) Top Traders is bringing you Top Traders Round Table, a series of conversations with industry leaders on the subject of Managed Futures. On this episode my guests are Ryan Abrams, Portfolio Manager at Wisconsin Alumni Research Association, Ela Karahasanoglu, VP at Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and Carrie Lo, Director of Hedge Strategies at CalSTRS. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: How Carrie diligently prepared her new Risk Mitigation Strategies (RMS) How much CalSTRS will initially allocate to the RMS part for their $200bn+ portolio How Ryan uses risk mitigation strategies in his organization How Ela is slowly restructuring her alternative portfolio The risks of risk parity strategies Is trend-following really an opportunity cost question? How Carrie has worked with the CalSTRS board on implementing this strategy Why Ela has focused more on tail-risk strategies Carrie’s manager selection process This episode was sponsored by CME Group: Connect with our guests: Learn more about Ryan Abrams and Wisconsin Alumni Research Association Learn more about Ela Karahasanoglu and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Learn more about Carrie Lo and CalSTRS "A potential Achilles heel, at least of a risk parity portfolio, is your exclusively long assets." - (Tweet)

“During the Turtles program, it was very easy to do what you were supposed to do.” - Brian Proctor (Tweet) Top Traders is bringing you Top Traders Round Table, a series of conversations with industry leaders on the subject of Managed Futures. On this episode my guests are Richard Dennis, creator of the Turtle program, Brian Proctor, managing director of EMC Capital Advices, and Jerry Parker, founder and president of Chesapeake Capital. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: The good and bad of targeting volatility How Jerry and Brian used the rules they learned through the Turtle experience Why the Turtle program was just “another piece of risk” Rich took on his book Jerry’s experience during and after the program Brian’s two biggest takeaways from the Turtle program If proper trading can be a real business? What Rich would do differently in 2017 The state of trend following today If being a good trader is enough to run a successful business? About other passions of the Turtles outside of trend following and trading Rich’s secret “career” in baseball If Rich has found any counter-trend strategies that work Jerry’s views on changing and adapting too much What academia thought of trend following 40 years ago This episode was sponsored by CME Group: Connect with our guests:   Learn more about Richard Dennis and the Turtle program Learn more about Brian Proctor and EMC Capital Advices Learn more about Jerry Parker and Chesapeake Capital “The trend is your friend, but the rules are your guardian angel.” - Richard Dennis - (Tweet)

“Nobody told me it was a good idea, but nobody wanted to tell me it was stupid, so we did it.” - Richard Dennis (Tweet) Top Traders is bringing you Top Traders Round Table, a series of conversations with industry leaders on the subject of Managed Futures. On this episode my guests are Richard Dennis, creator of the Turtle program, Brian Proctor, managing director of EMC Capital Advices, and Jerry Parker, founder and president of Chesapeake Capital. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: Rich’s first introduction to trend following Jerry’s early days in the Turtle program How Brian ended up as a Turtle The TRUTH about where the Turtle name came from The surprising way Rich came up with the idea for the Turtle group...NOT what you expect! Why Jerry did not answer the first call from Rich when applying for the program The preferred qualities of the Turtle recruits Why it was hard to predict which of the Turtles would succeed Why persistence is important in trend following The relevance of the Turtle group in the past and today If diversification among markets is always the best practice? The right balance of financial futures markets and commodity futures markets Why more investors haven’t embraced trend following...yet? This episode was sponsored by CME Group: Connect with our guests:   Learn more about Richard Dennis and the Turtle program Learn more about Brian Proctor and EMC Capital Advices Learn more about Jerry Parker and Chesapeake Capital “We got sufficient training, more than enough; our training could not have been better.” - Jerry Parker - (Tweet)

“I think people lose sight of the fact that hedge funds have done a very good job over the last 15 years.” - Adam Duncan (Tweet) We are back with another great episode of Top Traders Round Table, a series of conversations with industry leaders on the subject of Managed Futures. On this episode my guests are Chris Solarz, Managing Director, Global Macro Hedge Fund Strategies at Cliffwater, Adam Duncan, Managing Director at Cambridge Associates as well as Freeman Wood, who is a Partner and Head of North America, at Mercer. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: If there are there enough assets to go around What made 2015 such a weak year for hedge funds Why 2016 was such a strong year for hedge funds The future of hedge fund investing What Chris thinks hedge fund managers have done poorly How Adam looks at fees as a coin toss Why Freeman thinks that fees must add value to both parties The guest’s biggest takeaways from 2016 How the rise of the voter is providing opportunities to hedge fund managers The coming possibility of an equity correction, and it’s effects The question everyone should be asking right now Why a client needs a goal and a timeline for their assets The views expressed in this program are solely those of the host and speakers in their individual capacity and they do not necessarily reflect the views of the program’s sponsors or the entities with which any of the participants are affiliated. The contents of this program are for informational and educational purposes only. They do not constitute and should not be considered legal, tax, investment advice or a solicitation of the sale or purchase of any futures, options or swaps contracts. This episode was sponsored by CME Group: Connect with our guests:   Learn more about Chris Solarz and Cliffwater Learn more about Adam Duncan and Cambridge Associates Learn more about Freeman Wood and Mercer “I think some of the high performance culture is contributing to a lack or unwillingness to take risk.” - Adam Duncan - (Tweet)

“I think the key to any business is having a repeatable process.” - Chris Solarz (Tweet) Welcome to another edition of Top Traders Round Table, a series of conversations with industry leaders on the subject of Managed Futures. On this episode my guests are Chris Solarz, Managing Director, Global Macro Hedge Fund Strategies at Cliffwater, Adam Duncan, Managing Director at Cambridge Associates as well as Freeman Wood, who is a Partner and Head of North America, at Mercer. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: How our guests got to where they are today What challenges Adam sees institutional investors facing The extra information Chris gives his clients How the role of the consultant has changed Two issues that frustrate consultants, and how our guests solve them Freeman’s view of the role of the financial decision makers How to bridge the gap between the managers and the investors What your theoretical models can’t account for Why past hedge fund managers were able to pursue a more “pure” strategy The practical implications of having a larger fund The pros and cons of smaller and larger managers How Chris developed his key business strategies What red flags new startups can avoid The views expressed in this program are solely those of the host and speakers in their individual capacity and they do not necessarily reflect the views of the program’s sponsors or the entities with which any of the participants are affiliated. The contents of this program are for informational and educational purposes only. They do not constitute and should not be considered legal, tax, investment advice or a solicitation of the sale or purchase of any futures, options or swaps contracts. This episode was sponsored by CME Group: Connect with our guests:   Learn more about Chris Solarz and Cliffwater Learn more about Adam Duncan and Cambridge Associates Learn more about Freeman Wood and Mercer “I think understanding managers and what’s important to them is as important as understanding your clients as well.” - Freeman Wood - (Tweet)

"The idea that a person has to be a qualified investor to get access to this type of investment is just ludicrous to me." (Tweet) Top Traders is bringing you Top Traders Round Table, a series of conversations with industry leaders on the subject of Managed Futures. On this episode my guests are Marty Bergin, the owner and President of DUNN Capital Management, Grant Jaffarian, Portfolio Manager of the Advanced Trend program at Crabel Capital Management, and Mike Boss, who is a Director within the Capital Introductions Team at Societe General. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: How to use your management and incentive fees to compete Grants’s competitive strategy for his flat-fee product Why a robust risk management system is extremely important Who is winning the battle between the low-cost products and the traditional trend following offerings If the increased number of investors using trend following is impacting returns? How rising interest rates will affect long- and short-term trend followers The guest’s biggest takeaways from 2016 If machine learning is already being used by trend following firms? This episode was sponsored by CME Group: Connect with our guests:   Learn more about Marty Bergin, owner and President of DUNN Capital Management Learn more about Grant Jaffarian, Portfolio Manager of the Advanced Trend program at Crabel Capital Management Learn more about Mike Boss, a Director within the Capital Introductions Team at Societe General "Trend following is an absolute return strategy, but it’s never been known as a strong risk-adjustment strategy." - (Tweet)

"The problem is you have a lot of trend followers who have been around a long time and haven’t adapted their programs." (Tweet) Top Traders is bringing you Top Traders Round Table, a series of conversations with industry leaders on the subject of Managed Futures. On this episode my guests are Marty Bergin, the owner and President of DUNN Capital Management, Grant Jaffarian, Portfolio Manager of the Advanced Trend program at Crabel Capital Management, and Mike Boss, who is a Director within the Capital Introductions Team at Societe General. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: Key Insights from arguably the best Trend Follower & the best Short-Term CTA How the challenges they overcame to get to where they are today How trend followers can evolve their strategies to stay ahead The reason why some trend followers haven’t changed in decades Key insights to how Marty has allowed DUNN to stay ahead How Mike & Societe Generale sees the industry changing and it’s new opportunities Why the UCITS Directive started benefiting smaller specialized managers The challenges with short-term trading Why Crabel is strict with its capacity The research that increased Crabel’s bottom line How to ensure that CTA flagship offerings retain value over low-cost alternatives This episode was sponsored by CME Group: Connect with our guests: Learn more about Marty Bergin and DUNN Capital Management Learn more about Grant Jaffarian and Crabel Capital Management Learn more about Mike Boss and Societe General "If you’re using an algo off the shelf, there’s other algos designed to take advantage of that algo." - (Tweet)

  "Most people don’t realize how broad the CTA space is." (Tweet) We’re back with Top Traders Round Table, a discussion with industry leaders on the subject of Managed Futures. This is Part 2 of our conversation with guests Amy Elefante Bedi, Director of Hedged Strategies at Washington University Investment Management Company in St. Louis, Ernest Jaffarian, the CEO of Efficient Capital Management as well Phil Hatzopoulos , who is the Global Head of Buyside Sales at the CME Group. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: What the response has been to lower performance of hedge funds in recent years How managers have dealt with the challenging performance environment What institutional investors are looking to get out of the Managed Futures space How Smart Beta is being used If its true that you get what you pay for The movement towards BIG data The concern of investors about the fixed income sector What would happen if interest rates starts going up What the biggest opportunities are for the Managed Futures industry in 2017 How regulations could destroy the industry The biggest challenge that institutions face before they embrace CTAs How to overcome the fear of investing in the Managed Futures space This episode was sponsored by CME Group: Connect with our guests: Learn more about Amy Elefante Bedi and Washington University's Investment Management Company Learn more about Ernest Jaffarian and Efficient Capital Management Learn more about Phillip Hatzopoulos and CME Group "Liquidity in the market doesn't concern me because the overall size of the industry is still significantly smaller than its historical peak." (Tweet)

"Smaller managers realize that they need to partner to succeed." (Tweet) Top Traders is bringing you Top Traders Round Table, a series of conversations with industry leaders on the subject of Managed Futures. On this episode my guests are Amy Elefante Bedi, Director of Hedged Strategies at Washington University Investment Management Company in St. Louis, Ernest Jaffarian, the CEO of Efficient Capital Management as well Phil Hatzopoulos , who is the Global Head of Buyside Sales at the CME Group. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: Key Insights from industry leaders in Managed Futures How they got where they are today What Ernest did to change his career to Managed Futures The hesitations that endowments have had when investing in the CTA industry What is the state of the fund-to-fund model today The importance of diversifying your portfolio How to find and access talent in the Managed Futures space Questions to ask a manager when deciding on your allocations The issue of fees and the debate surrounding it The performance of CTAs in the last decade This episode was sponsored by CME Group: Connect with our guests: Learn more about Amy Elefante Bedi and Washington University's Investment Management Company Learn more about Ernest Jaffarian and Efficient Capital Management Learn more about Phillip Hatzopoulos and CME Group "The happy relationship between institutional investors and managers is found on the incentive fee side." (Tweet)

"We evolve over time to survive - we are constantly trying to find better ways to do what we do." - Katy Kaminski (Tweet) Thanks for tuning in to the second part of our roundtable conversation with three of the leading voices in the trend following industry today. In this episode, we discuss how the industry has evolved, what the future looks like, and how to educate investors on the merits of trend following. Thanks for listening and please welcome back Katy Kaminski, Alex Greyserman & Roberto Osorio. Subscribe on: In This Episode, You'll Learn: How has trend following evolved in the past decade The different kinds of diversification and how important they are The concept of divergent strategies "People get into analysis paralysis mode." - Alex Greyserman (Tweet) Different ways of generating signals Why entries are the least important How to figure out what are the most robust parameters to use Why you should try to debunk any new trading ideas "Trend following matches nicely with so many of the more fundamental trading approaches out there." - Katy Kaminski (Tweet) How trend following CTAs perform risk control How to educate investors on trend following firms and methods How many trend following managers should you invest in Resources & Links Mentioned in this Episode: Trend Following with Managed Futures: The Search for Crisis Alpha Return Dispersion, Counterintuitive Correlation (PDF) This episode was sponsored by BarclayHedge:   Connect with our guests: Follow Katy Kaminski on Linkedin Follow Alex Greyserman on Linkedin Follow Roberto Osorio on Linkedin "The details of the strategy make up the difference." - Roberto Osorio (Tweet)