SI381: Process Over Pain: Trend Following in an Unforgiving Market (Group Conversation Part 2)

In part two of our year-end roundtable, the Systematic Investor team goes beyond performance to ask harder questions about the path forward. Are today’s drawdowns a signal of structural change? - or just the cost of staying disciplined in a low-volatility regime? As allocators repackage old ideas under new acronyms and model drift tempts even seasoned managers, the conversation turns to what still holds. From AI and capital efficiency to the quiet value of doing less, this is about defending process when the payoff isn’t obvious - and knowing what not to change when pressure mounts. We close off with our 2026 Outrages Predictions... don't miss them!

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50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE

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Episode TimeStamps:

00:00 - Opening and recap of the year end roundtable format

02:05 - Introducing AI in systematic investing and total portfolio approaches

04:00 - Will TPA meaningfully increase allocations to CTAs or just rebrand 60/40

06:30 - Practical uses of AI in research, coding and client communication

08:50 - Process stability in changing regimes and the temptation to “fix” models after pain

12:00 - When, if ever, model changes are justified versus pure overfitting

16:00 - What really causes CTA drawdowns and why “nothing happening” is so costly

20:00 - Communicating long and shallow drawdowns to committees that want simple villains

24:00 - High volatility and leveraged trend products for the retail and ETF audience

28:00 - Capital efficiency, portable alpha and how higher rates change the game

32:00 - Is dispersion in CTAs healthy diversification or a barrier to broader adoption

36:30 - Outrageous predictions for 2026 in rates, equities, vol and trend following

41:00 - Final reflections, investor takeaways and invitation for listener questions

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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

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