SI413: Why Trend Following Is More Than Crisis Alpha ft. Andrew Beer & Tom Wrobel

SI413: Why Trend Following Is More Than Crisis Alpha ft. Andrew Beer & Tom Wrobel

August 15, 2026 · 1h 22m

About this episode

Niels Kaastrup-Larsen discusses the resilience of CTAs in systematic investing with guests Andrew Beer and Tom Wrobel.

Niels Kaastrup-Larsen is joined by Andrew Beer and Tom Wrobel to examine a remarkable period for systematic investing. They discuss how CTAs have navigated volatile moves across equities, commodities, currencies and rates while preserving strong gains, and why diversification has been central to that resilience. The conversation explores leverage, the renewed interest in managed accounts and portable alpha, alongside the growing distinction between trend and non-trend strategies. They also challenge the traditional framing of CTAs as crisis alpha, debate whether greater complexity actually improves returns, and examine the difficulties investors face when selecting managers and benchmarking an industry where yesterday’s winners may not remain tomorrow’s leaders. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE ----- Follow Niels on Twitter , LinkedIn , YouTube or via the TTU website . IT’s TRUE ? – most CIO’s read 50+ books each year – get your FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide to the Best Investment Books ever written  here . And you can get a free copy of my latest book “ Ten Reasons to Add Trend Following to Your…

People in this episode

Host: Niels Kaastrup-Larsen

Guests: Andrew Beer, Tom Wrobel

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CTAs, Trend Barometer

Books & works: 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING, Ten Reasons to Add Trend Following to Your Portfolio

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