The Doctor who Traded Pork Bellies: Patrick Welton's Journey from Stanford Oncologist to one of Trend Following's Quiet Legends

About this episode

Dr. Patrick Welton shares his journey from oncologist to futures trader, discussing the influence of his medical background on his trading strategies.

In this episode, Jeff Malec sits down with Dr. Patrick Welton to trace his remarkable path from Wisconsin kid to Stanford oncologist to veteran futures trader and founder of Welton Investment Partners. Patrick shares how trading pork bellies and interest rate futures in the late 1970s to pay tuition evolved into a decades-long career shaped by mentors at Commodities Corp, relationships with legends like Paul Tudor Jones and John Henry, and a unique “outside inside trader” role that let him keep practicing medicine at Stanford while managing money. He explains how his medical background and scientific training influence his approach to risk, uncertainty, and decision-making, and breaks down Welton’s strategy mix across trend following, macro, short-term flow trading, and equity selloff protection. Along the way, Patrick and Jeff dig into the myths around trend following “dying,” why diversification and staying power matter more than narratives, how capital flows really drive short-term moves, and what it takes to survive for 30+ years in a business where most firms disappear. SEND IT! Chapters: 00:00-02:03 =Intro 02:04-09:40= Doctor to Trader: Patrick Welton’s Origin Story, From…

People in this episode

Host: Jeff Malec

Guest: Dr. Patrick Welton

Topics covered

• trading
• trend following
• risk management
• investment strategies
• career transitions
• financial markets

Keywords

• pork bellies
• futures trading
• risk
• uncertainty
• diversification
• trend following
• investment partners

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Welton Investment Partners

Places: Wisconsin, Stanford

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