SI89: Trend Following EFTs and Asness vs Taleb ft. Rufus Rankin

We’re joined by special guest, Rufus Rankin of Ampersand Investment Management, to discuss Trend Following ETFs, the definition of a truly diversified portfolio, flat-fees versus performance-based fees, how to choose between different managers, learning from Q1 2020, predicting CTA returns, and the recent public spat between Cliff Asness & Nassim Taleb. Questions we answer include: Are Trend Following CTAs seeing an increase in client interest after this year’s stock market crash? What non-USA or Europe markets are CTAs currently interested in? If you would like to leave us a voicemail to play on the show, you can do so here. Learn more about the Trend Barometer here. IT's TRUE - most CIO's read 50+ books each year - get your copy of the Ultimate Guide to the Best Investment Books ever written here. And you can get a free copy of my latest book "The Many Flavors of Trend Following" here. Send your questions to [email protected] Follow Niels, Jerry, & Moritz on Twitter: @TopTradersLive, @RJparkerjr09, and @MoritzSeibert And please share this episode with a like-minded friend and leave an honest rating & review on iTunes so more people can discover the podcast. Episode Summary 0:00 - Intro1:26 - Macro recap from Niels4:06 - Weekly review of returns7:20 - Niels: How what was your journey into this industry?8:57 - Niels: How did you end up allocating capital to CTAs?10:05 - Niels: Do you view Trend Following as a philosophy?12:50 - Niels: What are your thoughts about truly diversified portfolios?17:28 - Moritz; If we can’t forecast CTA returns, do you think we should allocate capital to as many CTAs as possible?20:02 - Niels: What percent of a whole portfolio would you recommend to Trend Following, and what would investors be comfortable with?19:02 - Moritz; Do you only allocate to Trend Following CTAs?22:41 - Moritz; Do you consider yourselves to be a ‘fund of funds’?23:11 - Moritz; How do you handle client pressure surrounding double-layering of fees?24:17 - Niels: Who do you think drives the demand for flat-fees, rather than performance-based fees?26:03 - Niels: What do you think of cheap Trend Following replication products versus full-cost, long-established, Trend Following funds?30:16 - Moritz: Do you still think CTAs are worth their performance fees?32:30 - Niels: How do you choose between different managers?35:19 - Moritz: When do you stop adding CTAs to your portfolio, for diversification?37:15 - Moritz: How do you gain exposure to your chosen CTAs?38:44 - Niels: How has 2020 been for you so far?40:09 - Niels: What are some of the things you learned from Q1 2020?42:52 - Moritz: How has machine learning added value during Q1 2020?44:41 - Question 1; Michael: Have you ever considered creating a Trend Following ETF?48:49 - Niels: Would Trend Following ETFs be required to disclose the rules of the strategies?44:41 - Questions 2&3; Brian: Are Trend Following CTAs seeing an increase in investor interest, post the 2020 market crash? What non-USA or EU markets are CTAs currently interested in?53:31 - Performance recap Subscribe on: