Markets Look Calm… But Something Feels Off... ft. Rob Carver | Systematic Investor | Ep.396

Description

Today, Rob Carver joins us to reflect on a market environment that appears calm on the surface but feels increasingly fragile underneath. From oil market distortions and muted reactions to geopolitical risk to the steady resilience of equities, the conversation questions whether price action is telling the full story. Rob shares insights from his own performance, including why slower trend signals have recently dominated and why he is running lower risk despite positive returns. The discussion moves into portfolio construction, return stacking, and the growing role of ETFs, alongside a candid look at where complexity adds value in systematic investing and where it does not. #toptraders #investing #trendfollowing Episode TimeStamps: 00:00 - Intro & current market backdrop 04:30 - Oil market dislocations and futures vs physical pricing 10:00 - Equities hitting highs despite geopolitical tension 13:30 - ETFs, fees, and structural shifts in investment vehicles 17:00 - Trend following performance update and April results 20:30 - Rob’s year-to-date and 12-month performance breakdown 25:00 - Why slow trend signals outperformed 27:30 - How to evaluate large CTA managers 31:00 - Where PhDs add value in systematic investing 43:00 - Signal weighting, crisis alpha, and portfolio construction 52:00 - Return stacking and diversifying equities 01:06:30 - Managed futures ETFs vs replication strategies 01:18:00 - Final thoughts and wrap-up Full episode can be found here: https://toptradsersunplugged.com/si396 Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/top-traders-unplugged-niels-kaastrup-larsen-engaging/id888420325?mt=2 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OnOvLbIV3AttbFLxuoaBW Follow us on social media: TWITTER: https://twitter.com/TopTradersLive (@TopTradersLive) FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/toptradersunplugged INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/toptradersunplugged SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/toptradersunplugged-com Follow Rob on LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/in/robert-stuart-ca