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Top Traders Unplugged

Niels Kaastrup-Larsen
Trend Following
Inflation
Volatility
Systematic Investing
China
Investment Strategies
Global Economy
Managed Futures
Federal Reserve
Hedge Funds
Commodities
Artificial Intelligence
Interest Rates
Equities
Risk Management
Ctas
Gold
Central Banks
Monetary Policy
Market Volatility

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 ide... more

PublishesTwice weeklyEpisodes948Founded12 years ago
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BusinessNewsInvestingBusiness News

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Latest Episodes

More 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 Kaastrup-Larsen to explain why that conclusion may be dangerously premature. Th... more

Markets 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 permanently altered short term trend following, and what that means for systema... more

The 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 Alan Dunne to trace the dollar's remarkable journey from a silver coin in... more

Markets 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 free market capitalism towards a far more strategic model where governm... more

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Recent Guests

Manoj Pradhan
Founder of Talking Heads Macro; former Morgan Stanley analyst; co-author of The Unanchored Central Banker
Talking Heads Macro
Episode: IL50: Why Central Banks Are Losing Control of Inflation ft. Manoj Pradhan
Rob Carver
Guest, systematic trend following researcher
Episode: SI405: Why Most Trend Following Improvements Should Fail ft. Rob Carver
Michael Pettis
Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; economist and author
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Episode: GM102: China Built a Trap. Germany Set It. America Fell In. Europe Is Next ft. Michael Pettis
Eric Crittenden
Investment professional; discussion on ETF and futures integration
Episode: SI404: When Trend Following Meets Equities ft. Eric Crittenden & Andrew Beer
Danielle DiMartino Booth
Ex-advisor to the Dallas Fed and author of FedUp
Dallas Fed (former)
Episode: UGO12: Why the Next Financial Crisis Could Change America Forever ft. Danielle DiMartino Booth
Marat Molyboga
Chief Risk Officer, Director of Research at Efficient Capital Management
Efficient Capital Management
Episode: SI403: Trend Following in an Era of Geopolitical Risk ft. Marat Molyboga & Katy Kaminski
George Patterson
Managing Director and CIO at PGIM Quant Solutions
PGIM Quant Solutions
Episode: ALO35: Why Macro Investing Is Becoming More Systematic ft. George Patterson
Richard Brennan
Systematic Investor Series guest, multi-asset systematic trader
Top Traders Unplugged (Systematic Investor Series)
Episode: SI402: Why Markets Can’t Stop Trending ft. Richard Brennan
Dr. Rainer Zitelmann
Author of The New Space Capitalism and How Nations Escape Poverty
Author / Space economy advocate
Episode: IL49: The Space Economy Is No Longer Science Fiction ft. Rainer Zitelmann

Hosts

Niels Kaastrup-Larsen
Host of the show; co-host and regular moderator with deep focus on global macro and systematic strategies.
Moritz Seibert
Host with multiple series focusing on market structure and Open Interest concepts; frequently engages guests on trend following and execution.

Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars from 1.7k ratings
  • GM102 (Alan Dunne)

    Michael Pettis is considered a long-time China Hawk.

    In this interview, Alan does a great job in extricating the many subtleties to Pettis's long held opinions.

    Top notch!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    pam6481
    United Statesa month ago
  • Top tier

    Learn more from this cast and crew than almost any other show. Thank you.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    TheLoneComic
    United States2 months ago
  • Macro and Regimes

    Fantastic podcast. Great hosts and look forward to episodes on Macro, Regimes and Geopolitics

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    ACAlgo
    United States5 months ago
  • Great deluvwet

    As always thought provoking stuff but a great change in deliver as I smiled and giggled several times

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Happy andrich
    United Kingdom6 months ago
  • Episode 377 (Alan Dunne)

    Great conversation guys. Well said Alan.

    I look forward to studying your paper.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    pam6481
    United States7 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Feedback highlights the willingness of hosts to explore complex topics with technical rigor.
Listeners praise depth and quality of guests, noting practical insights for traders and allocators.
Many appreciate long-form conversations that connect papers and theories to real-market dynamics.
Some listeners want show notes and referenced papers included in episode resources.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#129
United States/Business/Investing
Apple Podcasts
#47
United Kingdom/Business/Investing
Apple Podcasts
#84
Canada/Business/Investing
Apple Podcasts
#148
United Kingdom/Business
Apple Podcasts
#231
Canada/Business
Apple Podcasts
#44
Italy/Business/Investing

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

SI402: Why Markets Can’t Stop Trending ft. Richard Brennan
Q: Does systematic trend following pay too much attention to correlation and not enough to variance at the instrument level?
Correlation is diagnostic across instruments, but variance is the control at the instrument level; sizing and risk management rely on variance (ATR) to respond to changing volatility, making both essential.
SI405: Why Most Trend Following Improvements Should Fail ft. Rob Carver
Q: When deciding whether to add, size, or remove a strategy, how do you balance sharp ratio against drawdown-related path risk and loss clustering?
Rob emphasizes that he tends to focus on drawdowns and try to understand skew and path risk at a portfolio level, using skew as a loose proxy rather than a strict allocation rule for individual components; the practical takeaway is to evaluate strategies within the context of the entire portfolio and to consider diversification strength across asset classes rather than overfitting a single metric.
IL49: The Space Economy Is No Longer Science Fiction ft. Rainer Zitelmann
Q: How does SpaceX's contract model alter incentives compared to the old cost-plus framework?
SpaceX sells a service with fixed pricing rather than building the rocket and accounting for cost overruns; this shifts risk and drives cost efficiency, encouraging lower costs and more innovation.
IL49: The Space Economy Is No Longer Science Fiction ft. Rainer Zitelmann
Q: Why was the Apollo program so successful, and why didn't that model scale to future space endeavors?
The program succeeded due to a crystal-clear incentive: national prestige and a defined objective. Once that incentive faded, the same government-led approach could not sustain repeated, costly missions without a similarly compelling purpose.
SI401: Why Trend Following Wins in Chaos ft. Nick Baltas
Q: There is alpha in execution? How do you execute to minimize slippage?
Execution can add value, especially when tailored to each market, but in QIS the aim is to deliver a close to reference price with minimal active trading impact; desks manage slippage, and some external providers show how patient, rules-based execution can reduce costs.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Top Traders Unplugged

What is Top Traders Unplugged about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show tends to lean into macro and quantitative investing, with a heavy emphasis on trend following, market structure, and the interplay between active strategies and passive flows. Episodes commonly explore how regime shifts, AI-driven dynamics, and geopolitical events reshape risk, correlations, and execution, often featuring practitioners from banks, asset management, and research institutions. A standout is the ability to pair rigorous, technical discussions with practical takeaways on risk management, portfolio construction, and edge development, making it valuable for allocators, traders, and quants seeking deeper intuition about how macro and quantitative ideas play out in real markets.

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Which podcasts are similar to Top Traders Unplugged?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Top Traders Unplugged:

1. Excess Returns
2. The Market Huddle
3. Forward Guidance
4. Monetary Matters with Jack Farley
5. Macro Voices

How many episodes of Top Traders Unplugged are there?

Top Traders Unplugged launched 12 years ago and published 948 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Top Traders Unplugged?

Recent guests on Top Traders Unplugged include:

1. Manoj Pradhan
2. Rob Carver
3. Michael Pettis
4. Eric Crittenden
5. Danielle DiMartino Booth
6. Marat Molyboga
7. George Patterson
8. Richard Brennan

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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