As trend followers push through one of the toughest environments in years, Rich and Niels unpack what’s actually driving the pain. They draw a sharp line between two camps in the industry - those who focus on standalone market behavior and those who manage trend as a portfolio-level phenomenon, and explain why that distinction now matters more than ever. From the ripple effects of tariff policy to the quiet fragility in institutional positioning, this episode traces how structural shifts are colliding with legacy assumptions. Also on the table: AI’s growing role in model development, the hidden costs of bad data, and what it really takes to build a resilient, scalable process in a world where noise is cheap and conviction is rare.

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50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE

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Episode TimeStamps:

00:13 - Introduction to Systematic Investing

03:55 - The Shift Towards AI in Trading

11:25 - The Rise of Idiosyncratic Trend Following Post-2020

21:42 - The Impact of Recent Market Dynamics

25:39 - The Rise of Retail Trading in Futures

34:09 - The Panama Method of Historical Adjustments

42:32 - Understanding Backtesting and Data Integrity in Trading Models

47:36 - Navigating Capital Constraints in Trend Following

55:14 - Understanding AI in Trading Strategies

01:00:14 - The Challenges of AI in Trading and Strategy Development

01:04:44 - The Impact of AI on Humanity

SI351: The Two Tribes of Trend ft. Richard Brennan

Top Traders Unplugged

SI351: The Two Tribes of Trend ft. Richard Brennan