About this podcast
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 portfolios, allocating capital, or simply looking to cut through the noise - this is your edge.
Clear thinking. Deep insights. Real experience.
🎧 New episodes weekly. Explore all episodes at toptradersunplugged.com https://toptradersunplugged.com
Episodes
The newest 50 of 982 episodes
- TTU154: Why Trend Following Isn't Crash Insurance ft. Philippe Jordan · 1 h 6 minWhat if one of the biggest misconceptions about trend following is what investors expect it to do? Niels Kaastrup-Larsen and Alan Dunne are joined by Philippe Jordan, President…
- SI425: Passive Investing Is About to Face a Real Test ft. Cem Karsan · 1 h 4 minWhat happens when the system holding global markets together begins to reach its breaking point? In the wake of the US midterm elections, Niels Kaastrup-Larsen is joined by Cem…
- OI25: What If Lower Volatility Is the Wrong Goal ft. Suhaimi Zainul-Abidin · 52 minMoritz Seibert is joined by QuantEdge CEO Suhaimi Zainul-Abidin to explore how one of Singapore’s most successful systematic firms approaches risk, diversification and long-term…
- SI424: Can Your Portfolio Survive the AI Hangover? ft. Alan Dunne · 1 h 6 minHow resilient is your portfolio if stocks and bonds fall together? Alan Dunne joins Niels Kaastrup-Larsen to examine what stock–bond correlations can conceal and why owning more…
- GM109: Why Buffett Finally Went All In on Japan ft. Andrew McDermott · 1 h 4 minAlan Dunne is joined by Mission Value Partners founder Andrew McDermott to challenge some of the conventional thinking around Japan. Andrew argues that Japan’s supposed “lost…
- SI423: Why Trend Following Might Outlast the AI Arms Race ft. Mark Rzepczynski · 1 h 14 minNiels Kaastrup-Larsen and Mark Rzepczynski explore why the changing structure of global markets may be creating a very different environment for trend followers. They discuss why…
- GM108: Maybe Japan Is Finally Changing for Real ft. Jesper Koll · 1 h 3 minAlan Dunne is joined by longtime Japan strategist Jesper Koll to explore why Japan may be entering one of its most important economic shifts in decades. Jesper explains why…
- SI422: Why Trend Following Rewards Patience ft. Katy Kaminski · 1 h 9 minNiels Kaastrup-Larsen and Katy Kaminski explore why geopolitical risk and structural inflation may be changing some of the assumptions behind traditional portfolios. Katy…
- UGO13: How Much Longer Can AI Carry the Market ft. Christian Mueller-Glissmann · 1 h 10 minCem Karsan is joined by Goldman Sachs’ Christian Mueller-Glissmann to ask how much longer the AI boom can keep supporting markets as the bond market becomes increasingly…
- SI421: Taking CTAs Mainstream ft. Andrew Beer · 1 h 18 minHow reliable is 60/40 when stocks and bonds fall together? Andrew Beer joins Niels Kaastrup-Larsen to question the return forecasts and diversification assumptions behind…
- IL54: Why Smart Investors Keep Making Crazy Decisions ft. Alex Edmans · 1 h 0 minIn today’s episode we talk with London Business School professor Alex Edmans. He has spoken at Davos, testified in the UK House of Commons and reached millions through his TED…
- SI420: The Market Might Be More Fragile Than It Looks ft. Cem Karsan · 1 h 4 minAlan Dunne is joined by Cem Karsan to examine the forces pushing bond yields higher and why he believes markets are becoming increasingly fragile. Cem argues that refinancing…
- TTU153: Why Investors Keep Getting Trend Following Wrong ft. Patrick Welton · 1 h 6 minNiels Kaastrup-Larsen and Alan Dunne are joined by Welton Investment Corporation founder Patrick Welton to explore what four decades in markets have taught him about trading…
- SI419: What Happens When AI Starts Building the Portfolio ft. Nick Baltas · 1 h 5 minAlan Dunne is joined by Nick Baltas to discuss a strong period for trend following and what the latest research says about adapting systematic strategies to changing markets…
- OI24: Why Power Trading Is 10 Times Crazier Than Crypto ft. Cory Paddock · 60 minMoritz Seibert is joined by GBE Energy co-founder Cory Paddock for a look inside the unusual world of proprietary power trading. Cory explains how electricity markets combine…
- SI418: Why Markets Are More Alive Than We Think ft. Richard Brennan · 1 h 15 minNiels Kaastrup-Larsen and Richard Brennan explore what the science of complex adaptive systems can teach us about markets and trend following. Drawing on research from the Santa…
- IL53: How Bonds Quietly Built the Modern World ft. Robin Wigglesworth · 1 h 3 minToday we talk with the editor of the Financial Times’ Alphaville blog, Robin Wigglesworth. Robin is the author of A Fabulous Debt - the Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern…
- SI417: What Happens When AI Starts Trading the Markets ft. Rob Carver · 1 h 8 minNiels Kaastrup-Larsen and Rob Carver discuss a market that feels unusually calm despite growing pressure beneath the surface. They look at rising concerns around government debt…
- GM107: What If AI Actually Pushes Interest Rates Higher? ft. Matt Klein · 1 h 2 minAlan Dunne is joined by Matt Klein to discuss whether the excitement around AI is getting ahead of the economic reality. Matt explains why the parallels with the 1990s…
- SI416: 137 Years of Trend: What the Evidence Really Shows ft. Yoav Git · 1 h 14 minNiels Kaastrup-Larsen and Yoav Git examine why trend following continues to endure despite decades of changing markets and persistent skepticism. They revisit AQR’s 137-year…
- GM106: What Happens When the Debt Finally Matters ft. Marvin Barth · 1 h 24 minMarvin Barth joins Niels Kaastrup-Larsen and Cem Karsan for a wide-ranging debate about the Fed, inflation and the growing pressures on the US economy. Barth argues that central…
- SI415: Maybe This Is Just What Normal Markets Look Like ft. Alan Dunne · 1 h 6 minNiels Kaastrup-Larsen and Alan Dunne examine how a changing macro regime is reshaping markets and the role of trend following. They discuss unusual U.S. intervention in the yen…
- IL52: Why Staying Calm Is the Ultimate Investing Edge ft. David Booth · 47 minIn today’s episode we talk with a pioneer of modern asset management, Dimensional Fund Advisors founder David Booth. David founded Dimensional in 1981 and it has since grown to…
- SI414: The Hidden Risks Beneath the Treasury Market ft. Mark Rzepczynski · 1 h 14 minNiels Kaastrup-Larsen and Mark Rzepczynski examine the warning signs emerging beneath seemingly calm markets, from extreme single-stock moves and commodity shortages to growing…
- ALO38: Why the Old Rules of Diversification Are Changing ft. Mike Pyle · 1 h 4 minAlan Dunne is joined by Mike Pyle, Deputy Head of BlackRock’s Portfolio Management Group, to explore how a supply-driven world is reshaping markets and portfolio construction…
- SI413: Why Trend Following Is More Than Crisis Alpha ft. Andrew Beer & Tom Wrobel · 1 h 21 minNiels Kaastrup-Larsen is joined by Andrew Beer and Tom Wrobel to examine a remarkable period for systematic investing. They discuss how CTAs have navigated volatile moves across…
- ALO37: Investing in the New World Order ft. Charles-Henry Monchau · 1 h 2 minCharles-Henry Monchau joins Alan Dunne to discuss how geopolitics, artificial intelligence and structural economic shifts are reshaping global investing. They explore the AI…
- SI412: Portable Alpha: Asking the Questions That Matter ft. Harry Moore · 1 h 19 minNiels Kaastrup-Larsen and Harry Moore explore the latest developments in trend following, the AI investment boom and why diversification matters most when markets come under…
- ALO36: The Endowment Playbook for Long-Term Investing ft. Paul Chai · 1 h 1 minPaul Chai joins Alan Dunne to discuss what it takes to manage a perpetual investment portfolio designed to support future generations. As CIO of the Kansas State University…
- SI411: Why the Best Portfolios Are Built to Be Wrong ft. David Dredge & Richard Brennan · 1 h 59 minThe future isn’t hidden. It hasn’t been written yet. That idea anchors this foundational conversation between Dave Dredge, Richard Brennan and Niels Kaastrup-Larsen, on what risk…
- IL51: Why Most Recessions Are Completely Misunderstood ft. Tyler Goodspeed · 1 h 1 minWhy do recessions happen? Tyler Goodspeed joins Kevin Coldiron to challenge some of the most deeply held beliefs in economics. Drawing on more than three centuries of data from…
- SI410: The Next Evolution of Trend Following ft. Nick Baltas · 1 h 10 minNiels Kaastrup-Larsen and Nick Baltas explore how artificial intelligence, thematic investing and narrative momentum are beginning to reshape systematic investing. Alongside a…
- OI23: Why Capital Efficiency Is the Next Edge in Investing ft. Charlie McGarraugh · 47 minCharlie McGarraugh joins Moritz Seibert to discuss how systematic investing is evolving beyond traditional trend following. Drawing on experience from Goldman Sachs, crypto and…
- SI409: Why Trend Following Is Changing Faster Than Ever ft. Yoav Git · 1 h 8 minMarkets are evolving in ways that few investors fully appreciate. Niels Kaastrup-Larsen and Yoav Git explore how changing market structure, the rise of retail options trading and…
- GM105: The Billion-Barrel Shock Has Not Arrived Yet ft. Adam Rozencwajg · 1 h 15 minMore than a billion barrels of expected oil supply have been removed from the market. Yet prices suggest the danger has passed. Adam Rozencwajg joins Cem Karsan and Niels…
- SI408: Has Trend Following Changed Forever? ft. Alan Dunne · 1 h 3 minMarkets continue to evolve, and so do the strategies designed to navigate them. Alan Dunne joins Niels Kaastrup-Larsen to explore why changes in market structure may have…
- GM104: How the Dollar Quietly Took Over the World ft. Brendan Greeley · 56 minThe US dollar has become so familiar that most investors rarely stop to ask how it became the world's dominant currency or why that dominance has endured. Brendan Greeley joins…
- SI407: Why America Is Rewriting the Rules of Capitalism ft. Cem Karsan · 1 h 1 minMarkets may be entering one of the most important regime shifts in decades. Cem Karsan joins Niels Kaastrup-Larsen to argue that the United States is moving away from traditional…
- GM103: Why Optimism Could Be the Most Contrarian Trade ft. Pippa Malmgren · 1 h 19 minWhile much of the world is focused on geopolitical conflict, inflation and rising global tensions, Pippa Malmgren argues that a very different future may already be taking shape…
- SI406: Why Uncertainty Is a Trend Follower’s Best Friend ft. Mark Rzepczynski · 1 h 8 minMarkets rarely move in straight lines, but periods of uncertainty often create the biggest opportunities for systematic investors. Niels Kaastrup-Larsen and Mark Rzepczynski…
- IL50: Why Central Banks Are Losing Control of Inflation ft. Manoj Pradhan · 1 h 1 minManoj Pradhan returns to Top Traders Unplugged to explain why the forces that kept inflation and interest rates low for decades are now reversing. Drawing on themes from The…
- SI405: Why Most Trend Following Improvements Should Fail ft. Rob Carver · 1 h 12 minTrend following investors are constantly searching for ways to improve performance, but not every improvement survives contact with reality. Rob Carver joins Niels…
- GM102: China Built a Trap. Germany Set It. America Fell In. Europe Is Next ft. Michael Pettis · 1 h 23 minMichael Pettis joins Alan Dunne for a wide ranging conversation on trade imbalances, globalization and the future of the world economy. Drawing on decades of research into China…
- SI404: When Trend Following Meets Equities ft. Eric Crittenden & Andrew Beer · 1 h 7 minTrend following has long promised and delivered diversification, crisis protection and uncorrelated returns. Yet many investors still struggle to hold it through difficult…
- UGO12: Why the Next Financial Crisis Could Change America Forever ft. Danielle DiMartino Booth · 54 minAs Kevin Warsh prepares to take the reins at the Federal Reserve, a deeper question emerges: has the Fed reached the limits of what monetary policy can achieve? Cem Karsan sits…
- SI403: Trend Following in an Era of Geopolitical Risk ft. Marat Molyboga & Katy Kaminski · 1 h 24 minGeopolitical tensions, inflation shocks, and shifting market regimes are reshaping the investment landscape. Marat Molyboga and Katy Kaminski joins us to explore why managed…
- ALO35: Why Macro Investing Is Becoming More Systematic ft. George Patterson · 1 h 1 minHow do quantitative investors adapt when markets, technology and macro regimes are constantly changing? In this conversation, Alan Dunne sits down with George Patterson, CIO of…
- SI402: Why Markets Can’t Stop Trending ft. Richard Brennan · 1 h 30 minWhat happens when markets stop behaving like machines and start behaving like living systems? In this episode, Richard Brennan joins Niels to explore passive investing, complex…
- IL49: The Space Economy Is No Longer Science Fiction ft. Rainer Zitelmann · 1 h 1 minOn this episode we are joined by Dr. Rainer Zitelmann, to discuss his book New Space Capitalism: The Entrepreneurial Path to the Stars. We discuss why government-funded space…
- SI401: Why Trend Following Wins in Chaos ft. Nick Baltas · 1 h 1 minThe world of systematic investing is evolving fast, and in this episode Nick Baltas joins Moritz Seibert to explore the explosive growth of QIS strategies, the current state of…
