Episode 013: The Punk Rocker of Trend Following: Mike Melissinos.

Episode 13: The Punk Rocker of Trend Following: Mike Melissinos, SanDisk’s 40-Bagger & April 2026 Review Join Rich Brennan, Jerry Parker, and Adam Havryliv for Episode 13 of Turtle Talk with a very special guest Mike Melissinos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSw-bgWxgWA This month the three turtles are joined by Mike Melissinos, founder of Melissinos Trading and one of the genuinely uncompromising classic trend followers you can count on one hand. Same system, same rules since 2011, no drift, no compromise, and no watering it down for institutional palatability. Rich and Adam are also fresh back from a few weeks in Malaysia, refreshed and ready, and they have walked straight into one of the wildest months the markets have served up in recent memory. In this episode: 📊 Battle of the Trend Following Indexes, April 2026 April was a month that did everything it could to shake a trend follower loose. Adam broke it down week by week and the picture was almost comical in its violence. Week one brought a tariff shock and a commodity explosion, with oil ripping higher. Week two delivered a ceasefire reversal that sent crude tumbling back down. Week three saw the trend cycle re-engage amid more volatility, and week four closed with the Strait shutting again, a rally in energy, and a fall across the metals complex. A genuine whipsaw from open to close, and yet the systematic universe held up far better than the headlines would suggest. The numbers told the real story. The Classic Trend Index finished April up 6.7%, the highest return against the peer benchmarks we track, and a strong reversal of a slightly negative prior month. The outperformance was not just nominal. It held up on the long term risk adjusted measures too, whether you prefer MAR, Sharpe, Sortino, or any of the other metrics you care to throw at it. Coming into the end of the Australian fiscal year, those are numbers investors can be pleased with, distributions and the tax man notwithstanding. But the single month is a slender statistic, and Rich was quick to steer the conversation toward something deeper. Looking at the VAMI chart, the separation between the Classic Trend Index and the rest of the mob since January 2020 is not narrowing. It is widening. Rich framed this as the shift from what he calls smooth world to rough world. For much of the decade after the global financial crisis, the wider field of managers made a rational commercial decision to smooth their return profiles, trim volatility, and manage drawdowns more tightly in order to look more palatable to institutional investors. The trouble is that you do not get that smoothness for free. You pay for it with your convexity, systematically trimming the very outlier trades that define classic trend following. In smooth world you might get away with it. In rough world, the world of pandemics, inflation shocks, energy crises, and geopolitical fracture, you pay a steep price. And to make matters worse, those smoothed and modest return profiles are now being competed away by cheaper replication products that approximate them at a fraction of the fee. Rich made the case that this dynamic may be accelerating rather than fading. As more and more capital floods into passive equity, pricing becomes less efficient at the single stock and sector level, correlations shift, and the macro trends that systematic traders exploit become more pronounced and more persistent. We may be entering an extended regime rather than enjoying a lucky run, one where staying wide, staying convex, and staying patient generates real geometric wealth for those who hold the line. The classic guys did cop a meaningful drawdown earlier in the year, which Rich calls the price of admission, but they have accelerated back toward their high water marks at pace. As Dave Dredge would put it, this is the racing car with the good brakes, able to mitigate the worst of the volatility and then accelerate hard out of the corner. 👉 Full report: https://www.aussieturtles.com/battle-of-the-trend-following-indexes-april-2026/ 📈 What’s Moved the Needle Three sets of charts, three different angles on where the opportunity is hiding. Jerry opened with the Australian dollar, one of the strongest currencies on the board, and used it to make a broader point that classic trend followers do not have to pair everything against the almighty dollar. Pair the Aussie against the New Zealand dollar or the Canadian dollar and you get bigger trends, different chart patterns, and a smaller entry ATR on two highly correlated markets, which means a larger position when the correlation finally breaks. He reached back to the 1990s for the perfect illustration: a long German Mark against French Franc position where neither leg did much against the dollar, but the combination became a monster trend because the ATR was tiny and the correlation so tight that it only took a small break to produce an enormous move. The lesson is simple. Do not forget your currency crosses. Mike brought the chart of the episode. SanDisk, up over 4,000% in a year, a genuine 40-bagger and the poster child of the AI storage trade. It came into his universe through a separate strategy he runs that watches the components of the S&P, applies a fixed selection rule, and simply takes equal weight positions in whatever is genuinely the strongest. SanDisk has sat at number one for months. Jerry, predictably, took issue, not with the performance but with the philosophy. His view is that a selection rule that filters markets in and out runs into sample size problems, and that classic trend following demands a fixed universe where you take every single trade. The math gods, as he put it, do not care whether you skipped the cocoa trade because of a clever filter or a failure of discipline. You did not take the trade, and that is all that counts. It made for a lively and good natured stoush, and it set up the deeper conversation about why so many CTAs

Battle of the Trend Following Indexes: April 2026

Battle of the Trend Following Indexes: April 2026 The Battle of the Trend Following Indexes provides a monthly snapshot of the leading trend-following benchmarks. All figures reflect performance through 30 April 2026, with index histories rebased to 1,000 on 1 January 2020. April 2026 Result Classic Trend Index gained +6.7% in April, leading every peer in the comparison and posting roughly twice the return of the next-best index. The TTU Trend Following Index returned +3.5%, the IASG Trend Following Index returned +3.4%, and the Systematic Momentum CTA Index returned +3.3%. The SG Trend Index posted +2.98%, the SG CTA Index +2.6%, and the Barclay BTOP50 +2.0%. Every index in the comparison finished April in positive territory. The dispersion is the story. April was the strongest single trend-following month of 2026 to date across the broader systematic universe. The SG Trend Index closed April at +2.98% for the month and +10.27% year-to-date, the first double-digit YTD reading of the year. Three of the seven indexes in this comparison are now into double-digit YTD territory: TTU at 10.8%, IASG at 10.3%, and SG Trend at 10.1%. Classic Trend Index sits at 7.8% YTD, still rebuilding from its March drawdown. That last point matters for honesty. Classic Trend’s +6.7% April is the largest single-month gain across the seven indexes, but its Last Quarter return of +2.6% is the lowest. The April recovery has not yet erased the March cost, and the quarter-on-quarter picture confirms that. The Last 12 Months reading places Classic at +25.1%, essentially tied with IASG at +25.5% and ahead of SG Trend at +24.4%, which is where the index is most directly compared on a like-for-like horizon. Across the longer-horizon and risk-adjusted metrics, Classic Trend continues to lead the comparison: Last 2 Years +12.6%, Since 1 Jan 2020 +146.3%, CAGR 15.3%, MAR 0.97, Sharpe 0.89, and Sortino 1.40. The Barclay BTOP50 retains the lowest maximum drawdown at 9.7%, against Classic Trend’s 15.8%. These structural readings have not moved materially since March; April has reinforced rather than altered them. The market context for the month was a five-week round trip in the trend environment itself. The TTU Trend Barometer traced the sequence 66, 55, 48, 55, 50, 55 across the weeks, finishing April back on the Neutral/Strong threshold it printed at the start. The path included a tariff-driven energy and metals spike, a ceasefire-driven reversal, a Hormuz reopening that pushed oil sharply lower, a Hormuz re-closure that drove petroleum back up, and a final week in which all six energy contracts moved higher in unison for the first time in the cycle. Metals reversed in late April after three weeks of uniform strength. The cycle ended with cleaner directional alignment than it had carried through any prior week of the month. Classic Trend’s monthly result is consistent with what a high-convexity, leveraged design is expected to deliver in a month that ends with directional alignment after fortnight-long disruption. The same design that produced March’s underperformance produced April’s outperformance. The peers, with lower convexity and more diversified construction, captured a steadier but smaller share of the same underlying directional moves. That is the trade-off in its working form, and the convexity spectrum is a matter for each allocator’s own judgement. Performance Highlights Here is how the indexes performed in April: Classic Trend Index +6.7% for April, the deepest monthly gain among the seven benchmarks. Trailing quarter +2.6%. YTD +7.8%. Since January 2020 the index has gained 146.3% with a 15.3% CAGR. Classic Trend retains leadership across long-term risk-adjusted measures with a MAR of 0.97, a Sharpe of 0.89, and a Sortino of 1.40. The same three-constituent, leveraged construction that absorbed the March repricing captured the April recovery. The 6.7% single-month result is consistent with the convexity profile the index has carried throughout its history: months of largest gain and months of largest drawdown both originate in the same concentrated design. Barclay BTOP50 Index +2.0% for April, the smallest monthly result among the seven benchmarks. Trailing quarter +4.3%. YTD +9.6%. Since 2020 the index has gained 55.1% with a 7.2% CAGR and the lowest drawdown of the group at 9.7%. With the highest proportion of winning months at 63.2%, BTOP50 once again demonstrated the value of its defensive profile. The modest April gain extended the year-to-date result toward the double-digit threshold without taking on additional volatility, and the index remains a textbook example of how volatility-targeted, diversified exposures deliver smoother equity curves through both reversal and trending months. SG Trend Index +2.98% for April and +5.2% for the trailing quarter. YTD +10.1%. Since 2020 the index is up 64.0% with an 8.1% CAGR and a 20.4% drawdown. The large-programme trend benchmark crossed into double-digit YTD territory for the first time in 2026. The gains accumulated in the second half of the month, once the energy whipsaw began to resolve, with the index moving from -0.15% MTD at the end of week one to +2.98% at month-end. The path reflects the systematic re-engagement that follows once directional alignment re-establishes itself after a disruptive period. SG CTA Index +2.6% for April and +5.2% for the trailing quarter. YTD +10.2%. Since 2020 the index is up 43.0% with a 5.8% CAGR and a 16.3% drawdown. The broader CTA blend’s diversified strategy mix delivered a result in line with the trend-focused peers, with the breadth of construction capturing the directional alignment of the late-month period without the concentration premium of the more focused trend benchmarks. TTU Trend Following Index +3.5% for April and +5.3% for the trailing quarter. YTD +10.8%, the lead position in the year-to-date table, and Last Quarter +5.3%, also the lead. Since 2020 the index has gained 51.7% with a 6.8% CAGR and a 20.7% drawdown. The 47-program ensemble’s breadth captured the April directional alignment effectively, and the index’s leadership across the YTD and Last Quarter tables reflects the consistency of contribution across the constituent set through the disruptive intra-month path. IASG Trend Following Index +3.4% in April and +4.9% for the trailing

Battle of the Trend Following Indexes: March 2026

Battle of the Trend Following Indexes: March 2026 The Battle of the Trend Following Indexes provides a monthly snapshot of the leading trend-following benchmarks. All figures reflect performance through 31 March 2026, with index histories rebased to 1,000 on 1 January 2020. March 2026 Result Three weeks of sustained precious metals repricing expose the cost of convexity, with Classic Trend giving back what its Feb positioning had built. March brought an abrupt halt to the powerful start that trend-following strategies enjoyed through January and February. After two consecutive months of universal gains, every benchmark finished March in negative territory. The month was defined not by a single violent reversal but by a sustained repricing of the precious metals complex, the very positions that had powered January’s and February’s outsized returns. Across three consecutive weeks, silver, gold, palladium, and platinum gave back substantial portions of the gains that had accumulated through the prior two months, with the third week of March delivering an historic session in which silver crashed 14.4 percent, gold fell 9.6 percent, and the full metals sector averaged minus 8.5 percent. Energy surged in parallel across three of the four March weeks, with heating oil, crude oil Brent, and crude oil WTI all posting multi-week gains of exceptional magnitude. Equities declined for four consecutive weeks. The net outcome was a month that redistributed returns across the peer group, with the programs that had the largest long metals exposure going in surrendering the most. Classic Trend Index bore the brunt of the reversal, giving back 8.6 percent for the month. The index had entered March with exceptional embedded profits in precious metals following February’s explosive final week, when silver surged 12.4 percent, platinum advanced 9.1 percent, and gold extended its historic run above 5,296 dollars. Those were precisely the positions that absorbed three consecutive weeks of selling pressure, culminating in the third week’s historic decline. Meanwhile, SG CTA Index was the most defensive of the peer group, finishing down 0.8 percent, followed by Barclay BTOP50 at minus 1.4 percent, SG Trend Index and Systematic Momentum CTA Index both at minus 1.6 percent, TTU Trend Following Index at minus 2.3 percent, and IASG Trend Following Index at minus 2.6 percent. The major energy contribution across the peer group, with crude oil WTI approaching 100 dollars, heating oil clearing 4.67, and Brent crude exceeding 109 at their March peaks, provided meaningful offset to metals losses for programs with established long petroleum exposure. The dispersion between benchmarks tells an important story about structural design choices. A 7.8 percentage point gap between the best and worst performing index reflects fundamentally different approaches to how unrealised equity is deployed. Classic Trend trades with high convexity, aggressively redeploying unrealised equity into winning positions to swing for the fences when trends extend. That design is what produced the outsized January and February results, and it is the same design that surrenders the most when brutal reversals strike. Programs using dynamic position sizing, volatility targeting, and similar forms of exposure dampening had been scaling winning positions down as they grew, locking in profits along the way. Neither approach is wrong. They are different points on the convexity spectrum, and March made that spectrum visible in the clearest possible terms. Trailing quarterly and year-to-date results still capture most of the early-year strength. SG CTA and IASG TF share the lead at 7.4 percent, followed by Barclay BTOP50 and TTU TF at 7.2 percent, SG Trend at 7.1 percent, Systematic Momentum at 6.1 percent, and Classic Trend at 1.0 percent. The compression reshuffled the order entirely from February’s ranking. Over the long horizon from January 2020, Classic Trend Index retains a substantial cumulative advantage. The index has now gained 130.8 percent since inception, a compound annual growth rate of 14.3 percent. IASG TF follows at 64.7 percent, with SG Trend at 59.5 percent and Barclay BTOP50 at 51.7 percent. TTU TF, SG CTA, and Systematic Momentum sit between 36.5 percent and 46.7 percent. Even after March’s setback, Classic Trend’s cumulative lead over the next-best performer exceeds 66 percentage points. Performance Highlights Here is how the indexes performed in March: Classic Trend Index -8.6 percent for March, the deepest monthly loss among the seven benchmarks. Trailing quarter +1.0 percent. YTD +1.0 percent. Since January 2020 the index has gained 130.8 percent with a 14.3 percent CAGR. Classic Trend retains leadership across long-term risk-adjusted measures with a MAR of 0.91, a Sharpe of 0.83, and a Sortino of 1.39. The concentration of long metals exposure that drove the 5.0 percent January and 5.3 percent February results was the concentration that absorbed March’s repricing. The index’s three constituents entered the month with substantial unrealised equity in silver, platinum, and gold positions, and the mid-March session in which silver crashed 14.4 percent and gold fell 9.6 percent accounted for the majority of the monthly loss. Barclay BTOP50 Index -1.4 percent for March. Trailing quarter +7.2 percent. YTD +7.2 percent. Since 2020 the index has gained 51.7 percent with a 6.9 percent CAGR and the lowest drawdown of the group at 9.7 percent. With the highest proportion of winning months at 62.7 percent, BTOP50 once again demonstrated the value of its defensive profile. The modest March loss preserved the bulk of the strong first-quarter result, and the index remains a textbook example of how volatility-targeted, diversified exposures can deliver smoother equity curves through reversal months. SG Trend Index -1.6 percent for March and +7.1 percent for the trailing quarter. YTD +7.1 percent. Since 2020 the index is up 59.5 percent with a 7.8 percent CAGR and a 20.4 percent drawdown. The large-programme trend benchmark navigated March’s reversal with limited damage, reflecting the systematic scaling down of winning positions that large-AUM programs tend to employ as exposure grows. The result is a retention of most of the early-year gains heading into the second quarter. SG CTA Index -0.8 percent for the month, the most defensive result of the seven benchmarks, and +7.4 percent for

Episode 012: Just the Turtles: February Review, Energy Breakouts & Myth Busting

Episode 12: Just the Turtles: February Review, Energy Breakouts & Myth Busting Join Rich Brennan, Jerry Parker, and Adam Havryliv for Episode 12 of Turtle Talk. No guests this month, just the three turtles going deep. https://youtu.be/FCE_VREaXsY In this episode: Battle of the Trend Following Indexes – February 2026 Classic Trend Index up 5.3% for the month, delivering a strong 14.6% over the last quarter and 10.5% year to date. All trend following benchmarks posted positive results in February — a rare show of breadth across the entire systematic universe. The Classic Trend Index continues to separate from the pack, with results that reflect disciplined positioning built up over many months, not a forecast of what comes next. 👉 Full report: https://www.aussieturtles.com/battle-of-the-trend-following-indexes-february-2026/ What’s Moved the Needle Jerry spotlights aluminium and bean oil — a reminder that the opportunity set for classic trend followers extends well beyond precious metals. Bean oil is outperforming almost everything else in the grain complex, and markets that look correlated on the surface can produce dramatically different moves when the conditions are right. Adam brings the dramatic divergence between European and US natural gas — European gas up close to 100% in a matter of days on localised supply concerns tied to Russia and the Middle East, while US natural gas gave back its gains entirely. Brent crude breaks out above the 200-day moving average and pushes toward $114. A timely discussion on why correlations go out the window when supply chains are under stress — and why that’s an opportunity, not a problem, for those trading enough markets. 🐢 Turtle Tidbits – Deep Dives Two meaty topics from Jerry and Adam: Jerry on Diversification Jerry unpacks a paper arguing that more concentrated portfolios — focused on financials, bonds, currencies and gold — deliver better crisis alpha during stock selloffs. His response: that’s the wrong objective. For classic trend followers, diversification isn’t about lowering volatility or providing crisis alpha protection. It’s about maximising the chance of catching outlier trades. The more markets you trade, the more opportunities you have to be in the right place when the big move comes. Trading fewer, more correlated markets to smooth the equity curve is solving for the wrong thing entirely. Adam on Trend Following vs. Passive Long Equity Equity markets are objectively expensive — the Buffett Indicator, Shiller CAPE, Price-to-Sales, and Yield Curve models are all flashing red. With energy prices exploding and a potential regime shift unfolding in the Middle East, Adam makes the case that the next several years could be very painful for passive index investors and very rewarding for classic trend followers. Drawing parallels to the 1973–74 oil crisis (S&P down 48%) and the 2022 episode, he argues that trend following doesn’t just survive these environments — it profits from the very drivers of the crisis, going long the assets that are appreciating and short the indices and bonds that are falling. And crucially, none of it relies on a forecast. 🔍 Myth Busters Jerry tackles two of the most persistent misconceptions in the trend following space: Myth 1 — Diversification lowers volatility In traditional portfolio construction, that’s the goal. For classic trend followers, it’s a red herring. Diversification exists to give you more chances at outlier trades — not to smooth your returns. Over-focusing on correlation between markets actively cuts your profits short and causes you to miss the very moves that define classic trend performance. Myth 2 — Richard Dennis designed ATR-based dynamic position sizing Dennis used ATR to normalise position sizing on entry — so each trade risked approximately 1% of equity and losses were comparable across markets. Full stop. The idea of continuously resizing positions as volatility changes — to smooth the equity curve and improve Sharpe — came later, from European systematic managers looking to make managed futures more palatable to institutional investors. It sounds like an enhancement, but it achieves the opposite: it systematically reduces exposure to winning trades and eliminates the outliers that are the heart of classic trend following. 📘 The Fractals of Finance Rich’s book is available now on Amazon in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover. Search Fractals of Finance or Rich Brennan. If you’ve read it, a short review on Amazon goes a long way in helping more traders discover it. 👉 Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHTH1WNK 🌐 Episode Resources The Fractals of Finance (Amazon) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHTH1WNK 📩 Send questions for future episodes: https://www.aussieturtles.com/contact Closing Thought March has thrown a few spanners in the works — metals have come off, equities are wobbling, and energies are moving with high volatility. But one month is a slender statistic. The trends that matter are built over years, not weeks. Stay in your system, keep your pants loose, and let the market do the talking. Stay systematic. Stay patient. And may the trend be with you. 🎙️ Turtle Talk is here to equip traders and enthusiasts with the tools to succeed in the ever-evolving world of trend following. Make sure to subscribe, rate, and share the podcast! Get the Aussie Turtles® Trend Following Guide If you want to go deeper into the principles behind trend following and build a process that survives real market conditions, the Aussie Turtles® Trend Following Guide is now available on Amazon. This book is a field manual for traders who want to move beyond prediction and commit to disciplined, systematic practice. Written by Adam Havryliv and Richard Brennan, it distills decades of experience into a practical and philosophical framework for navigating complex markets. The guide challenges the myths of consistency and control. It explains why markets evolve through trader impact, serial correlation, and emergent structure rather than forecasts. It does not promise a holy grail system. Instead, it teaches the mindset required to capture the rare asymmetric outliers that drive long term performance. If you are ready to trade with clarity, resilience, and conviction, this is the place to start. Click on the image below.

Battle of the Trend Following Indexes: February 2026

Battle of the Trend Following Indexes: February 2026 The Battle of the Trend Following Indexes provides a monthly snapshot of the leading trend-following benchmarks. All figures reflect performance through 28 February 2026, with index histories rebased to 1,000 on 1 January 2020. February 2026 Result Metals explode, trends surge, and systematic strategies build on an exceptional start to 2026. February extended the strong momentum from January, with the trend-following community delivering another broadly positive month. Classic Trend Index retained its leadership position, advancing 5.3 percent to claim top billing for the second consecutive month. TTU Trend Following Index followed with a strong 4.6 percent gain, while SG Trend Index added 3.9 percent and IASG Trend Following Index rose 4.0 percent. Systematic Momentum CTA Index gained 3.6 percent, Barclay BTOP50 added 3.5 percent, and SG CTA Index posted 3.4 percent. Every benchmark finished in positive territory, marking a second consecutive month of universal gains across all seven indexes. The month unfolded across three distinct phases. An early pullback in energy, driven particularly by the violent reversal in natural gas, weighed on the first week of February, with the SG Trend Index briefly dipping to -0.43 percent month-to-date. The TTU Barometer retreated from 68 percent to 55 percent and then further to 43 percent by mid-month as trend conditions cooled and equity markets wobbled. However, the second half of February staged a decisive recovery. Metals ignited with particular force in the final week: silver surged 12.42 percent, platinum gained 9.08 percent, and gold extended its historic advance above $5,296, reaching fresh all-time highs for the fourth consecutive week. The TTU Barometer surged 16 percentage points in the final week, recovering from 45 percent to 61 percent and crossing back into Very Strong territory as bonds, grains, and energy contributed supplementary gains. Trailing quarterly results reflect the powerful momentum accumulated over the past three months. Classic Trend leads the three-month window at 14.6 percent, followed by TTU TF at 12.6 percent and IASG TF at 11.5 percent. SG Trend added 10.9 percent for the quarter, while SG CTA, Barclay BTOP50, and Systematic Momentum returned 9.6 percent, 8.3 percent, and 9.8 percent respectively. Year to date, Classic Trend continues to pace the field at 10.5 percent after two months. TTU TF follows at 9.9 percent, with SG Trend at 8.8 percent. IASG TF has gained 8.4 percent, while SG CTA stands at 8.3 percent, Systematic Momentum at 7.7 percent, and Barclay BTOP50 at 7.0 percent. Over the long horizon from January 2020, Classic Trend Index’s cumulative advantage has extended further. The index has now gained 152.6 percent since inception, a compound annual growth rate of 16.2 percent. IASG TF follows at 68.0 percent, with SG Trend at 62.1 percent and Barclay BTOP50 at 51.4 percent. TTU TF, SG CTA, and Systematic Momentum sit between 38.5 percent and 48.9 percent. Performance Highlights Here is how the indexes performed in February: Classic Trend Index +5.3 percent for February, retaining the monthly lead for the second consecutive month. Trailing quarter +14.6 percent. YTD +10.5 percent. Since January 2020 the index has gained 152.6 percent with a 16.2 percent CAGR. Classic Trend continues to lead all major risk-adjusted measures with a MAR of 1.03, a Sharpe of 0.98, and a Sortino of 1.80. The metals explosion in the final week of February, combined with strong trending conditions across bonds and grains, allowed the index to deliver its second consecutive month above 5 percent. The cumulative lead over the broader trend universe continues to expand, now exceeding 152 percent since inception. Barclay BTOP50 Index +3.5 percent for February. Trailing quarter +8.3 percent. YTD +7.0 percent. Since 2020 the index has gained 51.4 percent with a 7.0 percent CAGR and the lowest drawdown of the group at 9.7 percent. With the highest proportion of winning months at 63.5 percent, BTOP50 navigated the month’s volatility with characteristic stability, recovering from early weakness to post another positive result. Its defensive profile proved valuable during the mid-month barometer dip when trend conditions deteriorated. SG Trend Index +3.9 percent for February and +10.9 percent for the trailing quarter. YTD +8.8 percent. Since 2020 the index is up 62.1 percent with an 8.1 percent CAGR and a 20.4 percent drawdown. The large-programme trend benchmark weathered the intra-month turbulence and recovered strongly as metals surged in the final week. The year-to-date reading of 8.8 percent after just two months confirms an exceptional start to 2026 for systematic trend followers. SG CTA Index +3.4 percent for the month and +9.6 percent for the trailing quarter. YTD +8.3 percent. Since 2020 the index is up 40.6 percent with a 5.7 percent CAGR and a 16.3 percent drawdown. Broader CTA blends participated meaningfully in February’s recovery, benefiting from the precious metals breakout and bond strength in the latter half of the month. TTU Trend Following Index +4.6 percent for February and +12.6 percent for the trailing quarter. YTD +9.9 percent. Since 2020 the index has gained 48.9 percent with a 6.7 percent CAGR and a 20.8 percent drawdown. The large-ensemble benchmark delivered its strongest monthly contribution since January, reflecting the broad-based nature of February’s late-month trend acceleration. The 4.6 percent gain places TTU TF second among the seven benchmarks for the month. IASG Trend Following Index +4.0 percent in February and +11.5 percent for the trailing quarter. YTD +8.4 percent. Since 2020 the index has gained 68.0 percent with an 8.8 percent CAGR and a 14.9 percent drawdown. IASG continues its impressive balance of growth and consistency, adding meaningfully to January’s gains and maintaining the second-highest cumulative return among the seven benchmarks. Systematic Momentum CTA Index +3.6 percent in February and +9.8 percent for the trailing quarter. YTD +7.7 percent. Since 2020 the index has gained 38.5 percent with a 5.4 percent CAGR and a 16.7 percent drawdown. Momentum strategies participated in the month’s recovery, with the late-February metals explosion providing particularly strong tailwinds for momentum-oriented positioning across precious metals. Performance Snapshot The February VAMI chart shows Classic

Episode 011: Stocks, FX Arbitrage, Regime Change, and the Return of Classic Trend

Episode 11: FX Arbitrage, Regime Change, and the Return of Classic Trend Join Rich Brennan, Jerry Parker, and Adam Havryliv for Episode 11 of Turtle Talk with special guest Sanjeev Lakhanpal, co-founder of Horizon3 Investment Management. https://youtu.be/D0qsdoinRfI In this episode: 📊 Battle of the Trend Following Indexes – January 2026 All seven trend following benchmarks rallied in unison, with Classic Trend and Barclay BTOP50 sharing the monthly lead at +5.0%. Dispersion compressed to just 1.1 percentage points — a rare show of breadth across the entire systematic universe. Classic Trend Index surpasses 140% cumulative since January 2020 with a 15.5% CAGR, continuing to separate from the pack on the VAMI chart. 👉 Full report: https://www.aussieturtles.com/battle-of-the-trend-following-indexes-january-2026/   📈 What’s Moved the Needle Metals dominate the conversation as Jerry walks through gold, silver, platinum, palladium and tin — including the brutal end-of-January sell-off and what it means (and doesn’t mean) for long-term trend followers. A passionate debate on vol-weighting vs fixed position sizing, why cutting winners to improve Sharpe is a trap, and why one trade doesn’t define a system built on thousands. Adam brings the Toronto Stock Exchange, cocoa’s dramatic bear trend, and Bitcoin’s breakdown below 80,000. Paul Mulvaney’s extraordinary January (+26%, reportedly up 72% intra-month) sparks a discussion on convexity, pyramiding, and why you can’t replicate his CAGR by simply leveraging a smooth equity curve.   🎙 Spotlight Conversation – Sanjeev Lakhanpal (Horizon3 Investment Management) A deep dive into one of the most unique operators in the systematic space. Sanj explains: His journey from a physics degree to AHL’s trading desk, running billions through the pits with a team averaging 20 years old Working with David Beach — “the greatest trader no one’s ever written a book about” — and the six-year quest to automate his photographic pattern recognition methodology How Digital Signal Processing extracts genuinely diversified signals from price data by analysing the frequency domain Why linear filters throw away turning-point information that non-linear pattern recognition can recover Horizon3’s new FX Swap Arbitrage program: a market-neutral strategy exploiting structural swap rate differentials between brokers, averaging over 2% monthly with no losing months and no losing trades Why the opportunity exists (arbitraging an efficiency, not an inefficiency) and why it won’t be arbitraged away How the arb strategy creates a 20-25% annual return cushion beneath the CTA, transforming the risk profile with a level of certainty research gains can’t normally deliver Contact Sanj: sa**@**im.com | Website: www.h3im.com 📬   Shell Mail – Listener Questions from Lee Two practical questions from a good friend of the podcast: Opposing signals under US FIFO rules — What happens when two systems want to be long and short the same futures contract in a US retail account? Jerry, Sanj, and the team break down why netting at the portfolio level is the cleanest solution, and why it’s actually more efficient than trying to maintain separate positions. Managing multi-currency balances as a global investor — When EM diversification leaves you holding HKD, KRW, SEK, and MYR, what do you do? Convert back to USD? Write an algo? Or follow Adam’s out-of-the-box advice: go live where your profits are.   📘 The Fractals of Finance Rich shares the story behind his new book — a lifetime of searching for certainty in markets, finding trend following, and discovering the deeper geometry beneath it all. The book explores why extreme events are far more common than we’re taught, why traditional models built on normal distributions consistently fail, and why classic trend following isn’t just a strategy — it’s a survival mechanism. With a foreword by Jerry Parker. Available now in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover. 👉 Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHTH1WNK   🌐 Episode Resources Battle of the Trend Following Indexes – January 2026 https://www.aussieturtles.com/battle-of-the-trend-following-indexes-january-2026/ Horizon3 Investment Management www.h3im.com | sa**@**im.com The Fractals of Finance (Amazon) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHTH1WNK   📩 Send questions for future episodes: https://www.aussieturtles.com/contact   Closing Thought We’re back in a classic CTA environment. The world is fragmenting, purchasing power is eroding, and markets are producing the kind of outlier moves that reward those who stayed positioned. Vol-weighting or loose pants, the debate continues — but the trends don’t care about your method. They care about whether you’re there.   Stay systematic. Stay patient. And may the trend be with you. 🎙️ Turtle Talk is here to equip traders and enthusiasts with the tools to succeed in the ever-evolving world of trend following. Make sure to subscribe, rate, and share the podcast! Get the Aussie Turtles® Trend Following Guide If you want to go deeper into the principles behind trend following and build a process that survives real market conditions, the Aussie Turtles® Trend Following Guide is now available on Amazon. This book is a field manual for traders who want to move beyond prediction and commit to disciplined, systematic practice. Written by Adam Havryliv and Richard Brennan, it distills decades of experience into a practical and philosophical framework for navigating complex markets. The guide challenges the myths of consistency and control. It explains why markets evolve through trader impact, serial correlation, and emergent structure rather than forecasts. It does not promise a holy grail system. Instead, it teaches the mindset required to capture the rare asymmetric outliers that drive long term performance. If you are ready to trade with clarity, resilience, and conviction, this is the place to start. Click on the image below.

Battle of the Trend Following Indexes: January 2026

Battle of the Trend Following Indexes: January 2026 The Battle of the Trend Following Indexes provides a monthly snapshot of the leading trend-following benchmarks. All figures reflect performance through 31 January 2026, with index histories rebased to 1,000 on 1 January 2020. January 2026 Result A powerful start to the year as all seven trend benchmarks rally in unison. January delivered an emphatic opening to 2026, with all seven trend-following benchmarks posting gains. Classic Trend Index and Barclay BTOP50 shared top billing at 5.0 percent each, followed closely by SG Trend Index and SG CTA Index at 4.7 percent apiece. TTU Trend Following Index added 4.5 percent, IASG Trend Following Index gained 4.3 percent, and Systematic Momentum CTA Index advanced 3.9 percent. The breadth of gains was notable, with no index finishing below 3.9 percent for the month. Trailing quarterly results continued to reflect strong momentum across the group. IASG TF led the rolling three-month window at 8.7 percent, followed closely by Classic Trend at 8.5 percent and SG Trend at 8.2 percent. TTU TF posted 7.5 percent, while Barclay BTOP50, Systematic Momentum, and SG CTA returned 6.6 percent, 6.5 percent, and 6.3 percent respectively. Year to date, the field is tightly bunched after a single month. Classic Trend and BTOP50 share the lead at 5.0 percent, with SG Trend and SG CTA at 4.7 percent, TTU TF at 4.5 percent, IASG TF at 4.3 percent, and Systematic Momentum at 3.9 percent. The compressed dispersion stands in contrast to the divergence that developed through 2025. Over longer horizons, the structure remains firmly established. Classic Trend Index extends its lead with a cumulative gain of 140.0 percent since January 2020 and a 15.5 percent CAGR. IASG TF follows at 62.1 percent, with SG Trend at 56.0 percent and BTOP50 at 48.7 percent. TTU TF, SG CTA, and Systematic Momentum remain clustered between 33.6 percent and 41.5 percent. Performance Highlights Here is how the indexes performed in January: Classic Trend Index +5.0 percent for January, sharing the monthly lead with BTOP50. Trailing quarter +8.5 percent. YTD +5.0 percent. Since January 2020 the index has gained 140.0 percent with a 15.5 percent CAGR. It continues to lead all major risk-adjusted measures with a MAR of 0.98, a Sharpe of 0.93, and a Sortino of 1.82. January’s strong start extends the index’s long-term dominance, now surpassing the 140 percent cumulative threshold. Barclay BTOP50 Index +5.0 percent for January, matching Classic Trend for the monthly lead. Trailing quarter +6.6 percent. YTD +5.0 percent. Since 2020 the index has gained 48.7 percent with a 6.7 percent CAGR and the lowest drawdown of the group at 9.7 percent. With the highest proportion of winning months at 63.0 percent, BTOP50 delivered an unusually strong month while reinforcing its role as the stability anchor within diversified allocations. SG Trend Index +4.7 percent for January and +8.2 percent for the trailing quarter. YTD +4.7 percent. Since 2020 the index is up 56.0 percent with a 7.6 percent CAGR and a 20.4 percent drawdown. The large-programme trend benchmark participated fully in January’s broad-based rally, building on the constructive close to 2025. SG CTA Index +4.7 percent for the month and +6.3 percent for the trailing quarter. YTD +4.7 percent. Since 2020 the index is up 35.9 percent with a 5.2 percent CAGR and a 16.3 percent drawdown. Broader CTA blends matched the pure trend benchmarks in January, signalling strength across a wider range of systematic strategies. TTU Trend Following Index +4.5 percent for January and +7.5 percent for the trailing quarter. YTD +4.5 percent. Since 2020 the index has gained 41.5 percent with a 5.9 percent CAGR and a 21.0 percent drawdown. After pausing in December, the large-ensemble benchmark returned to form with a strong January, reflecting broad participation across its constituent programmes. IASG Trend Following Index +4.3 percent in January and +8.7 percent for the trailing quarter, leading the rolling three-month window. YTD +4.3 percent. Since 2020 the index has gained 62.1 percent with an 8.3 percent CAGR and a 14.9 percent drawdown. IASG continues to deliver an impressive balance of consistency and growth, carrying momentum from its 2025 calendar-year leadership. Systematic Momentum CTA Index +3.9 percent in January and +6.5 percent for the trailing quarter. YTD +3.9 percent. Since 2020 the index has gained 33.6 percent with a 4.9 percent CAGR and a 16.7 percent drawdown. Momentum strategies participated in the January rally, with the index posting its strongest single-month gain in recent quarters. Performance Snapshot The January VAMI chart shows Classic Trend Index pushing decisively above the 2,400 level, extending its separation from the broader trend-following universe. The remaining benchmarks continue to cluster between roughly 1,340 and 1,620 since 2020, though all moved higher in January. Dispersion at the monthly level compressed significantly in January, with the gap between the strongest and weakest performer narrowing to just 1.1 percentage points. At longer horizons, however, Classic Trend’s cumulative lead remains commanding, now exceeding 140 percent since inception. Statistical Highlights Classic Trend Index continues to dominate long-term risk-adjusted statistics. It maintains the highest CAGR at 15.5 percent and leads across MAR (0.98), Sharpe (0.93), and Sortino (1.82) ratios. Its ability to compound while recovering efficiently from drawdowns remains unmatched across all benchmarks. Barclay BTOP50 again stands out as the most stable benchmark, with the lowest maximum drawdown at 9.7 percent and the highest winning month ratio at 63.0 percent. January’s 5.0 percent gain demonstrated that stability need not come at the expense of upside participation. IASG TF leads the trailing twelve-month window at 9.5 percent, while Classic Trend retains leadership across all longer horizons. Correlation to global equities remains low across all benchmarks, ranging from −0.03 to 0.08, underscoring the diversification benefits of systematic trend exposure. January Reflections January delivered a rare moment of unanimity across the trend-following landscape. All seven benchmarks advanced, dispersion compressed, and the breadth of gains suggested that trending conditions extended across multiple asset classes and timeframes. For allocators, it was a welcome reminder that

Episode 010: Stocks, Outliers, and the Geometry of Trend

Episode 010: Stocks, Outliers, and the Geometry of Trend Join Rich Brennan and Jerry Parker for Episode 10 of Turtle Talk, joined by special guest Cole Wilcox, CIO of Longboard Asset Management. No Adam this month, but a deep, wide-ranging conversation covering classic trend following, equity outliers, diversification myths, and why individual stocks may offer the cleanest expression of trend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXcf5-CSrZs In this episode: 📊 Battle of the Trend Following Indexes – December 2025 ReviewClassic Trend continues to separate from the pack, reaching new high-water marks while much of the CTA universe still lags prior peaks. We unpack dispersion, convexity, and why classic designs thrive when genuine trends emerge. 👉 Full report:https://www.aussieturtles.com/battle-of-the-trend-following-indexes-december-2025/ 📈 What’s Moved the NeedleGold, silver, platinum, palladium, and livestock trends take centre stage as multi-sigma moves remind traders where returns are actually made. The discussion cuts through daily noise to focus on long-horizon positioning, unrealised profits, and why parabolic moves signal fragility, not opportunity. 🎙 Spotlight Conversation – Cole Wilcox (Longboard Asset Management)A deep dive into equity trend following at the individual stock level. Cole explains: Why most stock market returns come from a tiny minority of companies Why indices dilute trend signals How trend following stocks differs structurally from futures-based CTAs Why long-duration trends, not activity, drive compounding The case for absolute momentum over cross-sectional rotation A rare, first-principles discussion on outliers, capitalism, and why trend following belongs inside equities. Learn more about Cole’s work:https://longboardfunds.com/ 📘 Feature Highlight – The Fractals of FinanceRich introduces his latest book, The Fractals of Finance, now available on Amazon, with a foreword by Jerry Parker. The book explores why markets are fractal, why averages mislead, and why trend following works because of structure, not prediction. 👉 Available now on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHTH1WNK 🌐 Episode Resources Battle of the Trend Following Indexes – December 2025https://www.aussieturtles.com/battle-of-the-trend-following-indexes-december-2025/ Longboard Asset Managementhttps://longboardfunds.com/ The Fractals of Finance (Amazon)https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHTH1WNK 📩 Send questions for future episodes:https://www.aussieturtles.com/contact Closing ThoughtMarkets are producing moves no backtest prepared us for. Outliers are no longer rare. Systems matter. Process matters. And survival still comes before prediction. Stay systematic. Stay patient. And may the trend be with you. #TrendFollowing #TurtleTalk #SystematicTrading #AussieTurtles #OutlierHunter #JerryParker #CTAPerformance #MarketStructure #FatTails #RobustSystems 🎙️ Turtle Talk is here to equip traders and enthusiasts with the tools to succeed in the ever-evolving world of trend following. Make sure to subscribe, rate, and share the podcast! Get the Aussie Turtles® Trend Following Guide If you want to go deeper into the principles behind trend following and build a process that survives real market conditions, the Aussie Turtles® Trend Following Guide is now available on Amazon. This book is a field manual for traders who want to move beyond prediction and commit to disciplined, systematic practice. Written by Adam Havryliv and Richard Brennan, it distills decades of experience into a practical and philosophical framework for navigating complex markets. The guide challenges the myths of consistency and control. It explains why markets evolve through trader impact, serial correlation, and emergent structure rather than forecasts. It does not promise a holy grail system. Instead, it teaches the mindset required to capture the rare asymmetric outliers that drive long term performance. If you are ready to trade with clarity, resilience, and conviction, this is the place to start. Click on the image below.

Battle of the Trend Following Indexes: December 2025

Battle of the Trend Following Indexes: December 2025 The Battle of the Trend Following Indexes provides a monthly snapshot of the leading trend-following benchmarks. All figures reflect performance through 31 December 2025, with index histories rebased to 1,000 on 1 January 2020. December 2025 Result A strong finish to the year as trend programs close 2025 with broad-based gains. December delivered a positive month across all trend-following benchmarks, capping a constructive fourth quarter. Classic Trend Index led monthly performance with a gain of 3.7 percent, followed by IASG Trend Following Index at 2.5 percent and SG Trend Index at 1.9 percent. SG CTA Index added 1.2 percent, while Barclay BTOP50 rose 1.0 percent and Systematic Momentum CTA Index advanced 0.6 percent. TTU Trend Following Index finished the month flat at 0.0 percent, pausing after a strong third quarter. Quarterly results reflected steady performance across the group. IASG TF led Q4 with a return of 5.5 percent, followed closely by Classic Trend at 5.1 percent and SG Trend at 4.8 percent. TTU TF and SG CTA each delivered 2.7 percent for the quarter, while Systematic Momentum posted 2.5 percent and BTOP50 recorded 2.4 percent. Year to date performance shows clear separation among the benchmarks. IASG TF Index holds the lead at 6.7 percent, followed by Classic Trend at 3.7 percent and BTOP50 at 2.8 percent. SG Trend finished the year at 2.4 percent. SG CTA, TTU TF, and Systematic Momentum ended the year negative at −0.2 percent, −0.6 percent, and −0.8 percent respectively, reflecting the challenging trend environment experienced earlier in 2025. Over longer horizons, dispersion remains wide. Classic Trend Index continues to stand apart with a cumulative gain of 128.5 percent since January 2020 and a 14.8 percent CAGR. IASG TF follows at 55.3 percent, with SG Trend at 49.0 percent and BTOP50 at 41.2 percent. TTU TF, SG CTA, and Systematic Momentum remain clustered between 26.9 percent and 33.7 percent. Performance Highlights Here is how the indexes performed in December: Classic Trend Index +3.7 percent for December and +5.1 percent for the quarter. YTD +3.7 percent. Since January 2020 the index has gained 128.5 percent with a 14.8 percent CAGR. It continues to lead all major risk-adjusted measures with a MAR of 0.94, a Sharpe of 0.89, and a Sortino of 1.85. December marked a strong close to the year, reinforcing its position as the standout performer across all horizons. TTU Trend Following Index Flat for the month and +2.7 percent for the quarter. YTD −0.6 percent. Since 2020 the index is up 33.7 percent with a 5.0 percent CAGR and a 21.1 percent drawdown. December’s pause followed a strong run earlier in the quarter, with the index consolidating gains as trend persistence moderated into year end. IASG Trend Following Index +2.5 percent in December and +5.5 percent for the quarter. YTD +6.7 percent. Since 2020 the index has gained 55.3 percent with a 7.6 percent CAGR and a 14.5 percent drawdown. IASG finishes 2025 as the strongest performer on a calendar-year basis, continuing to deliver an impressive balance of consistency and growth. SG Trend Index +1.9 percent for the month and +4.8 percent for the quarter. YTD +2.4 percent. Since 2020 the index is up 49.0 percent with a 6.9 percent CAGR and a 20.4 percent drawdown. December gains were supported by continued strength across commodities and selected macro trends heading into year end. Systematic Momentum CTA Index +0.6 percent in December and +2.5 percent for the quarter. YTD −0.8 percent. Since 2020 the index has gained 26.9 percent with a 4.1 percent CAGR and a 16.7 percent drawdown. Momentum strategies showed modest gains but remain constrained by limited trend extension throughout 2025. SG CTA Index +1.2 percent for the month and +2.7 percent for the quarter. YTD −0.2 percent. Since 2020 the index is up 29.8 percent with a 4.4 percent CAGR and a 16.3 percent drawdown. Broader CTA blends closed the year with steady December gains, narrowly missing positive territory for 2025. Barclay BTOP50 Index +1.0 percent in December and +2.4 percent for the quarter. YTD +2.8 percent. Since 2020 the index has gained 41.2 percent with a 5.9 percent CAGR and the lowest drawdown of the group at 9.7 percent. With the highest proportion of winning months at 62.5 percent, BTOP50 continues to anchor stability within diversified allocations. Performance Snapshot The December VAMI chart shows Classic Trend Index extending its lead over the broader trend-following universe. After climbing steadily through the fourth quarter, Classic Trend now stands well above the 2,200 level, while the remaining benchmarks continue to cluster between roughly 1,270 and 1,550 since 2020. Dispersion widened during December as Classic Trend outperformed, reinforcing the gap between the top performer and the rest of the field. Trend persistence remained selective, with stronger programs capitalising on opportunities across commodities and macro markets into year end. Statistical Highlights Classic Trend Index continues to dominate long-term risk-adjusted statistics. It maintains the highest CAGR at 14.8 percent and leads across MAR, Sharpe, and Sortino ratios. Its ability to compound while recovering efficiently from drawdowns remains unmatched. Barclay BTOP50 again stands out as the most stable benchmark, with the lowest maximum drawdown at 9.7 percent and the highest winning month ratio at 62.5 percent. This stability reinforces its role as a defensive core within managed futures allocations. IASG TF finishes 2025 as the strongest performer on a YTD basis, while Classic Trend retains leadership across longer horizons. Correlation to global equities remains low across all benchmarks, ranging from −0.03 to −0.08, underscoring the diversification benefits of systematic trend exposure. December Reflections December brought a fitting conclusion to a year of contrasts. After navigating a difficult first half, trend-following programs rallied through the second half of 2025, delivering meaningful gains for patient allocators. The fourth quarter reinforced the value of staying positioned through periods of uncertainty. The year highlighted an enduring truth about trend following. Annual returns are shaped by a handful of meaningful moves. Programs that maintained discipline

Savouring the Trend — An Evening with Niels Kaastrup-Larsen at Ristorante Bindella, Zurich

Savouring the Trend — An Evening with Niels Kaastrup-Larsen at Ristorante Bindella, Zurich In this edition of Savouring the Trend, Adam Havryliv and Richard Brennan traveled to Zurich to dine with Niels Kaastrup-Larsen at Ristorante Bindella, a refined Italian institution that mirrors the Swiss city’s quiet competence. Over prosciutto, burrata, and perfectly prepared scaloppine, the conversation explored Kaastrup-Larsen’s dual contributions to systematic trading: his role heading European and Asian investor relations at DUNN Capital Management, and his creation of Top Traders Unplugged, a podcast that has become essential listening for the industry’s most serious practitioners. From hosting legends like Richard Dennis and Bill Eckhardt to providing a platform for deep systematic thinking, Niels has built a career defined by consistency and intellectual openness. In a setting where even forgotten glasses are met with quiet preparedness, the evening affirmed what matters most: discipline, restraint, and respect for process. Zurich does not announce itself. It operates with a quiet self-assurance born of competence long practised. Everything feels considered: orderly, efficient and discreet. It was here, at Ristorante Bindella, an institution that reflects the city’s confidence, that we hosted this instalment of Savouring The Trend. The Aussie Turtles, Adam Havryliv and Richard Brennan, were joined for dinner by Niels Kaastrup-Larsen of DUNN Capital Management, founder & host of the excellent Top Traders Unplugged podcast. Bindella is a restaurant that refines tradition. Italian hospitality is delivered without theatre, valuing standards over spectacle. We began with shared starters: prosciutto, burrata, and bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar – simple dishes that rewarded quality and restraint. Each of us chose the scaloppine for the main course, served with vegetables and prepared with care. Steamed vegetables and creamed spinach were ordered as sides, while wine was skipped entirely in favour of sparkling water throughout. Dessert was declined; a round of espresso provided a more fitting conclusion to an exceptional meal. For the Aussie Turtles, it was a particular pleasure to sit down with Niels in his adopted home. Born and raised in Denmark, he has built a career that has carried him across borders and perspectives. Today, Switzerland serves as his base as he heads up European and Asian investor relations for DUNN Capital Management. Switzerland suits him: international, precise, and quietly focused on outcomes. Between courses, the conversation ranged easily across markets and media. Niels’ path has been defined by consistency. While his role at DUNN places him within one of the discipline’s most respected institutions, his broader contribution to the industry has come through dialogue. Niels’ podcast series Top Traders Unplugged has become a central forum for systematic and macro thinkers alike. It was a pleasure to reflect on Richard’s own participation on the show: a reminder of the platform’s openness and intellectual range. Over time, the microphone has been shared with an unusually deep bench of presenters and guests, including Katy Kaminski and Andrew Beer, through to Harold de Boer and Jack Schwager – and even the original architects of the Turtle Trading Program, Richard Dennis and Bill Eckhardt. The breadth is deliberate, allowing serious practitioners to explain how they think, not just what they trade. Midway through the meal, a small moment captured the tone of the Bindella experience. Niels realised he had forgotten his glasses. Seconds later, the waiter returned with four pairs, inviting him to try each until the right fit emerged. Quiet competence and preparedness. Switzerland, distilled. As plates were cleared and espresso arrived, our discussion touched on discipline, media, and the long arc of careers built by resisting noise rather than chasing it. There was no attempt to extract lessons or impose conclusions. The value lay in the exchange itself. Face-to-face conversations still matter. Shared meals build connection, and give discussions a weight that screens cannot replicate. In an industry increasingly mediated by distance and digital shorthand, evenings like this are increasingly rare and valuable. We left Bindella clear-headed and affirmed in the belief that the most enduring edges, in markets and in life, come from consistency, restraint, and respect for process. The Ledger Prosciutto (starter, shared): CHF 48 Burrata (starter, shared): CHF 42 Bread, olive oil & balsamic: CHF 18 Scaloppine (main, per person x3): CHF 204 Steamed vegetables (shared): CHF 18 Creamed spinach (shared): CHF 22 Sparkling water: CHF 24 Espresso: CHF 18 Subtotal: CHF 394 Service (~15%, rounded): CHF 56 Total: CHF 450 Using exchange rates from 27 August 2025: CHF 450 ~AUD 862 ~USD 506 ~EUR 482