Copper steps out of the shadow of gold and silver in this wide‑ranging conversation with StoneX’s Natalie Scott-Gray and Summerhaven’s Kurt Nelson. Jeff digs into why “Dr. Copper” sits at the heart of electrification, AI data centers, EVs, and defense, and how underinvestment in mines, fragile supply chains from Chile to the DRC, and China’s […]
Author: rcm-alternatives
27
May
2026
The Hardest Trade Is Holding the Thing That Doesn’t Hug You Back
Let’s start with a confession: every asset in your portfolio pays you in two different currencies. The first is returns. The boring, spreadsheet kind. The kind your CPA cares about. The second is feelings. The dopamine drip. The “honey, look what NVDA did today” kind. The kind that makes you screenshot your brokerage app and […]
21
May
2026
The Doctor who Traded Pork Bellies: Patrick Welton’s Journey from Stanford Oncologist to one of Trend Following’s Quiet Legends
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 […]
18
May
2026
Leverage Is Bad. Except When It Isn’t. Morningstar Just Made the Distinction Official.
We’ve all heard the lectures. Leverage caused the GFC. Leverage blew up Long-Term Capital Management in ’98. Leverage cratered Amaranth on a bad natural gas trade in ’06. The word itself carries decades of scar tissue, and for good reason. Pile enough of it onto a concentrated bet and you don’t just lose. You take […]
14
May
2026
Painting Corners to Protecting Portfolios: Former MLB pitcher Scott Karl on How Athletes Blow the Money, Alts, the Mental Side of Performance, and the NIL Era
In this episode, former Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Scott Karl traces his journey from Carlsbad baseball standout to big league starter and then into life as a financial advisor. He swaps stories with Jeff about golf trips to Bandon Dunes and his recent move from California to Lake Norman, then dives into his baseball career, getting […]
08
May
2026
MEGA to SEGA: Why Seoul beating Saxony shows just how hard it is to Diversify
Here’s the thing about volatile markets: when things are getting hit, you look at home first. It’s reflexive. Your newsfeed is dialed to the S&P, CNBC’s on in the background, the watchlist on your phone (fine, your watch) is 80% U.S. tickers. That’s where the bleeding is, that’s where your attention goes. But now? The […]
07
May
2026
Crisis Alpha, Cocoa Trends, and Correlated Trendlessness: Inside Aspect Capital’s Strategy with Christopher Reeve
Jeff Malec sits down with Christopher Reeve, Chief Investment Officer of Aspect Capital, one of the original managed futures shops with roots tracing back to the “L” in AHL. Chris shares his path from chemistry and early-2000s AI at Oxford to 22 years at Aspect, where he now runs the investment side of the business. […]
04
May
2026
Asset Class Scoreboard: April 2026
April 2026 brought a broad recovery across asset classes, reversing much of March’s losses. U.S. Stocks led the month at +10.51%, largely unwinding their -4.93% March decline and pushing their year-to-date return to +5.69%. U.S. Real Estate followed with an +8.53% gain, bringing its year-to-date total to +9.61%, while World Stocks added +7.54%, extending their […]
30
Apr
2026
Status of Alternatives – A Live Recording from Uncorrelated Puerto Rico
Recorded live in Puerto Rico, this special episode of The Derivative features host Jeff Malec with guests Brent Johnson, Jason Buck, and Mark Tower exploring how alternative investments are behaving in a world shifting from globalization to de‑globalization. The panel covers why some managed futures and volatility strategies haven’t delivered as expected in recent crises, […]
23
Apr
2026
Trend Following’s Bond Problem
Our own Jeff Malec went solo on the Derivative last week, dishing on all sorts of topics from ski races to conferences. But one topic caught our eye in particular, talking bonds. And particularly bonds in times of war. Last month, when the U.S. began military strikes on Iran, markets delivered a reminder that the […]
