Our Major Markets portfolio consists of 180 trend following strategies (long, medium and short cycle trends) in 15 of the most important markets for global investors. Daily TrendCompass reports convey the directional exposure and trading signals for all these strategies. Here we'll look at the performance of these signals from the start of 2020 through … Continue reading TrendCompass Major Markets 2020/21 performance review
Navigating the commodities super-cycle: trend following or long-only ETF?
Over the past few months, there's been a growing consensus among market analysts that commodity markets will likely outperform other asset classes over the next decade. This has been my contention as well. One of the readers of our newsletters asked a simple question: why do I not just buy a commodity ETF? It's actually … Continue reading Navigating the commodities super-cycle: trend following or long-only ETF?
Tesla and the power of momentum investing
At market close on 15 December, the Tesla’s market cap ($606.5 billion) surpassed that of Toyota, General Motors, Daimler, VolksWagen, BMW, Honda and Ford combined ($578.2 billion)! This underscores yet again the power of market trends and the momentum investing strategy. Let’s have a brief look at the way this shaped up. While the S&P … Continue reading Tesla and the power of momentum investing
I-System trend following vs. unforeseen market events
One of the frequently voiced misgivings about systematic trading strategies usually goes like this: “yes, but your model can’t know if tomorrow XYZ happens and market prices go haywire…” The immediate aftermath of U.S. elections saw fairly volatile market reactions particularly in equities and treasuries. Both had previously turned slightly bearish but on November 4, … Continue reading I-System trend following vs. unforeseen market events
CTAs and the treasuries reversal: time to pay attention?
One thing I have learned over time is the best thing to do is let market price action guide your decision-making and then try to understand the fundamentals as they become more evident and comprehensible."Paul Tudor Jones, "The Great Monetary Inflation" - May, 2020 Institutions like Nomura, JPMorgan, Rabobank and others watch CTA hedge funds' … Continue reading CTAs and the treasuries reversal: time to pay attention?
How Stan Druckenmiller missed market top by an hour and lost half his fund
For indeed, the investor’s chief problem – and even his worst enemy – is likely to be himself. Benjamin Graham This is a rather spectacular story. It is 20 years old but it is as relevant today as it ever was for it sheds light on one of the key problems in investment speculation: human … Continue reading How Stan Druckenmiller missed market top by an hour and lost half his fund
Inflation: we passed the phase transition
During the 1970s inflation, M2 money supply growth never surpassed 14% per annum. This year we just blew past 23%. It is time to start paying attention!
I-System: probably the best trend following model ever built
This is not a hollow boast. While I-System has generated superb performance over the years, the key reason for this claim reflects a higher-order quality of the model: I-System has the potential to entirely transcend uncertainty and largely replace the human factor in asset management in a broad variety of investment strategies including portfolio allocation, … Continue reading I-System: probably the best trend following model ever built
Are treasury futures signaling a trend reversal?
Over the past few trading sessions, I-System strategies have gradually reversed from long to short positions on treasury futures (long gilt, German bund, US 30-yr T-Bond), with the exception of the 10-year T-Note where our positioning remains net long. This could be a significant development if we are looking at the beginning of a major … Continue reading Are treasury futures signaling a trend reversal?
I-System and the 2020 oil price roller-coaster…
Oil price has had a wild ride this year, crashing nearly 80% from January through April. I-System strategies navigated the event remarkably well, capturing more than $42/bbl in profits. At the time, I summarized this in my article, “With I-System through the storm… with flying colors!” But trend following does less well during trend reversals … Continue reading I-System and the 2020 oil price roller-coaster…
I-System Trend Following 