Now that the dust has settled a bit after a topsy, turvy April – it’s time for a check in on the Volatility space. With the S&P down -12% MTD and -19% from it’s highs at one point, and the VIX hitting 52; April was crazy enough that we added a new VIX peak to […]
Author: rcm-alternatives
15
May
2025
Value Creation Over Financial Engineering: Kinzie Capital’s Suzanne Yoon on Modern Private Equity
In this episode of The Derivative, host Jeff Malec sits down with Suzanne Yoon, Founder and Managing Partner of Kinzie Capital Partners, for an in-depth exploration of private equity. Yoon shares her remarkable journey from the daughter of immigrant entrepreneurs in Chicago to leading a lower middle market buyout firm. Drawing from her rich background, […]
08
May
2025
Stacking Assets: Bitcoin, Gold, and the Future of Portfolio Diversification with David Dziekanski of Quantify Funds
This week on The Derivative: In this compelling episode, @David Dziekanski, founder of Quantify Funds, joins host Jeff Malec to unpack the fascinating world of Bitcoin and gold. Dive deep into the innovative BTGD ETF, which stacks 100% Bitcoin and 100% gold, and explore the cutting-edge concept of portable alpha. Dziekanski shares insights on why […]
06
May
2025
April’s Shake-Up: Commodities Crash, Managed Futures Follow
April 2025 brought some serious turbulence to the asset class scoreboard, with Commodities and Managed Futures leading on the downside. Commodities plunged -8.87%, turning sharply from March’s solid +2.61% gain. But the bigger story may be Managed Futures, which fell -4.47% in April—its third consecutive monthly loss after posting -0.39% in March and -2.36% in […]
28
Apr
2025
Patience in Alts: Man Group Shows trend in Trend’s Initial Struggles
We’ve been discussing the challenges facing trend following strategies during April’s market volatility here in our post Paging Mr. Trend Following and in Jeff Malec’s, recent tweet thread. Many investors are understandably frustrated by the performance of trend and other alternatives during this market downturn. Right on cue, managed futures pioneer Man Group has published […]
24
Apr
2025
Podshops, Prices, and Physical Flows: A Commodity Trading Framework with Stephane Bernhard of CAM/ETG
In this episode, we dive deep into the world of commodity trading with Stephane Bernhard, CEO/CIO of CAM Multi-Strat Asset Management. Drawing from his 30+ years of experience starting at Louis Dreyfus through commodity trading house ETG, Stephane shares how commodity trading has evolved from pure fundamental analysis to today’s complex intersection of physical, financial, […]
17
Apr
2025
The Endowment Playbook: Balancing Long-Term Goals with Current Market Volatility
In this wide-ranging conversation, Jeff Malec sits down with Dave Morehead, CIO of Baylor University’s $2.2 billion endowment, to explore the unique challenges and strategies of institutional portfolio management. From his early days trading derivatives in Chicago’s financial district to overseeing one of Texas’s prominent university endowments, Morehead shares invaluable insights on risk management, alternative […]
11
Apr
2025
WTF is this market? – with Vineer Bhansali of LongTail Alpha
In this emergency pod edition, Jeff Malec is joined by Vineer Bhansali, Founder and CIO at LongTail Alpha, LLC, to break down the market’s wild rollercoaster ride that demanded immediate attention. When markets hit new lows only to rocket back with a stunning 10% rally, we knew it was time for another “WTF episode” – […]
08
Apr
2025
Paging Mr. Following, Mr….Trend… Following
We can’t blame you if you’ve been looking to put out an APB on trend following so far this year—needing some help from that Alts bucket in what is increasingly looking like an ugly market moment. The S&P 500 is now down 17% from its highs, while the Nasdaq and Russell indices have plunged into […]
03
Apr
2025
Trends, Tall Heads, and Transformations with Transtrend’s Harold de Boer
Dive into the fascinating world of trend following with Jeff Malec and one of the GOATs: Harold de Boer, a pioneering systematic trader who transformed his life path from a Dutch dairy farm into the sophisticated global investment firm Transtrend. In this episode, Harold shares insights into the evolution of trend following, discussing how understanding […]
