Buckle up for a wild ride through the markets with Eric Leake, founder of Altus Private Capital, as Jeff Malec explores the investment world with a quantitative maverick who’s about to reveal the hidden playbook of market mastery! From analyzing market waves to navigating volatility, Eric uncovers his unique approach combining long-term equity market trend […] The post Engineering Alpha using Trend and Volatility on Equity Beta with Eric Leake of ALTUS Private Capital appeared first on RC...| RCM Alternatives
Insights from Future Proof Festival 2025 At this year’s Future Proof Festival, we partnered with CME Group to host a forward-looking conversation on Bitcoin and digital assets. Moderated by Giovanni Vicoso of CME Group, the panel brought together voices from across the investment landscape, including Ryan Rasmussen (Bitwise Asset Management), David Dziekanski (Quantify Funds), and […] The post Bringing Futures to Future Proof: Bitcoin’s Evolving Role in Portfolios appeared first on RCM ...| RCM Alternatives
Join Jeff Malec and Jason Buck as they dive deep into the inaugural Return Stacked Symposium held at the CBOE in Chicago. They break down key presentations from institutional leaders like Jonathan Glidden and Roxton McNeal, exploring how portable alpha and return stacking are revolutionizing portfolio construction. Hear their candid insights on leverage, uncorrelated strategies, and why this approach might be the future of investing. From pension fund strategies to practical advice for RIAs, ...| RCM Alternatives
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 […]| RCM Alternatives
This episode of the podcast piles on the knowledge about “return stacking” – the investment approach that lets you layer alternative assets and strategies on top of your traditional portfolio, like a perfect investment sandwich. Jeff Malec has stacked the deck with FOUR financial heavyweights – Mike Philbrick, Rodrigo Gordillo, Adam Butler, and Corey Hoffstein […]| RCM Alternatives
What do you think of when you hear the term “carry trade”? We start thinking of the infamous Mr. John Devaney, who had to sell his 142-foot yacht named (wait for it…) “Positive Carry” during the financial crisis because of losses in his hedge fund due to the unwinding of, you guessed it — the carry trade.But a recent whitepaper by Adam and Andrew Butler of ReSolve Asset Management is making us think of the infamous Carry Trade in a new way. While the carry trade is best known f...| RCM Alternatives
We’re talking with the purveyors of one of the best performing mutual funds thus far in 2022, the dynamically shifting asset allocator, RDMIX (past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results). It hasn’t all been rainbows and lollipops, however, for the ReSolve Asset Management Global team of Rodrigo Gordillo @RodGordilloP and Mike Philbrick @MikePhilbrick99, […]| RCM Alternatives
Jeff is “stacking” two guests in this episode, welcoming 1. Corey Hoffstein, CIO and co-founder of Newfound Research, host of Flirting with Models Podcast, and co-conspirator on the Pirates of Finance YouTube channel; and 2. Rodrigo Gordillo, President and Portfolio Manager of Resolve Asset Management and host of the Resolve Riffs Friday live stream. They’re […]| RCM Alternatives
Is now the time to ditch stocks and buy bonds? Gold? Should you just go to cash? These types of asset allocation decisions are hard enough in the calmest of times – and downright impossible when overwhelmed with fear and panic in times like the past few weeks as stocks have given back a good […]| RCM Alternatives
September 2025 delivered another strong month across most asset classes, with World Stocks gaining +3.62% and U.S. Stocks posting a solid +3.56% return. The continued strength pushed World Stocks to an impressive +26.40% year-to-date performance. Managed Futures posted their best month of 2025 with a +3.41% gain in September, building on August’s positive momentum. This […] The post SEPTEMBER RALLY CONTINUES: MANAGED FUTURES SURGE 3.4% AS MOMENTUM BUILDS appeared first on RCM Alternatives.| RCM Alternatives
Join Jeff Malec as he sits down with Brad Giaimo and Bruce Greig from Q3 Asset Management, two investment pros who turned trading floor grit into a modern, rules-based quant shop helping RIAs build out tactical trading models for clients. From Brad’s formative days alongside Paul Tudor Jones to Bruce’s mathematical approach to market analysis, […] The post Beyond Buy and Hold: Q3 Asset Mgmt’s Quantitative Approach to Tactical Investing with Bruce Greig & Brad Giaimo appeared first o...| RCM Alternatives
Four days on the beach, 5,000+ financial leaders, and countless conversations that reshaped how we think about advice, growth, and technology, Future Proof Festival 2025 in Huntington Beach delivered on every front—even for us futures folks at what was decidedly a stock/bond/ETF fest. The energy this year was undeniable. RIAs, enterprise firms, fintech innovators, capital […] The post Bringing Futures to Future Proof Festival 2025: Where Wealth Management Meets Its Future appeared first o...| RCM Alternatives
In this lively episode of The Derivative, Jeff Malec sits down with NASDAQ's Kevin Davitt and Nick Smith for a deep dive into the wild world of index options, with a special focus on the NASDAQ 100. These guys break down everything from the evolution of options trading to why the NASDAQ 100 is becoming the cool kid on the financial block. Kevin and Nick bring their A-game, unpacking the index's unique volatility, global revenue streams, and why younger investors are totally crushing on this ...| RCM Alternatives
In this episode of the Derivative podcast, we're hanging out with Bob Elliott, co-founder of Unlimited Funds. Bob used to work at small shop you may have heard of… Bridgewater, working his way from (nearly) the mail room to Ray Dalio’s right hand man. And now he's doing something pretty interesting - he's figured out how to systematically replicate what hedge funds do and package it into ETFs that regular investors can actually access. We dive into Bob's journey from the hedge fund world ...| RCM Alternatives
When it comes to investing, there are countless strategies to choose from, each with its own set of pros and cons. One strategy that has stood the test of time is trend following, a technique that involves analyzing market trends and making trades based on those trends. Despite its proven track record, some investors remain skeptical about trend following, perhaps because they don't fully understand how it works or they've been burned in the past by unsuccessful trades.| RCM Alternatives
This post is part of an ongoing series on the Attain Capital blog that seeks to help investors understand the various metrics we use to evaluate managers. Stay tuned for future pieces! * * * * * * * * We recently did a post that explained everything you’d want to know about the Sharpe […]| RCM Alternatives
When we first opened Dunn Capital's latest paper on trend following, we'll admit we braced ourselves for another round of the usual talking points. You know the ones: "negative correlation," "crisis alpha," "diversification benefits"—all true, but frankly, we've heard it all before. The trend following community has been singing from the same hymnal for decades, and honestly, it was getting a bit tiring.But then we got to the high volatility argument, and suddenly we were paying attention. ...| RCM Alternatives
Welcome to the start of a new year and another exciting season of The Derivative Podcast. We're beginning with a bang, featuring DBi’s hedge fund guru, Andrew Beer (@andrewdbeer1). Picture the ideal blend of Wall Street expertise and accessible insights - that's what we're delivering in this episode! We’re talking with Andrew about replicating strategies in this episode and if it works.Andrew is sharing his journey, from establishing a commodity firm to making groundbreaking strides in th...| RCM Alternatives
We love movies…so much so that we’ve been known to tweet out asking to bring back movie futures, compared the 60/40 portfolio to Top Gun, and put out the greatest infographic of all time aligning 20 investments with Star War characters. Movies have the innate ability of breaking down barriers and making almost any subject […]| RCM Alternatives
One of the bigger CTAs in the business – Transtrend – recently released their 2012 review newsletter, and included a deeper discussion of a risk metric we've briefly addressed before: Kurtosis. Now, most people aren’t even discussing Kurtosis, much less different aspects of Kurtosis – but you don’t get to $8 billion under management without knowing a thing or two about math, and their insight is definitely worth sharing.| RCM Alternatives
August 2025 delivered strong performance across most asset classes, led by World Stocks with an impressive +4.12% gain. U.S. Stocks followed with a solid +2.05% return, while U.S. Real Estate posted a strong +2.91% gain for the month.Hedge Funds continued their positive momentum with a +1.51% return in August. Bonds also participated in the rally, gaining +1.15% for the month.Managed Futures posted their strongest month of 2025 with a +1.35% gain in August, marking a notable turnaround from i...| RCM Alternatives
Join Jeff Malec for a special solo "6-pack" episode where he tackles six topics on his mind during the summer podcast break. Jeff starts by examining the challenging trend following drawdown that's been plaguing the markets, sharing insights from his 25 years in the space and why this one feels different. He pays tribute to Waldo Wiens, the legendary Kansas farmer who backed dozens of CTAs with hundreds of millions and helped shape the managed futures industry. Reflecting on Hurricane Katrina...| RCM Alternatives
Talk about timing! Today, FanDuel is celebrating its cheeky “Futures Day” campaign—inviting fans to bet on the upcoming football season—while also making waves for a much bigger reason: its brand-new joint venture with CME Group to launch a non-clearing Futures Commission Merchant (FCM).You couldn’t script that kind of overlap if you tried. On one hand, people are asking, “Will the 49ers finally win it all?” On the other, FanDuel and CME are setting the stage for traders to ask,...| RCM Alternatives
June 2025 maintained the market momentum as U.S. Stocks delivered another strong month with a +5.14% gain, while World Stocks rose +3.90%. This continued strength has pushed U.S. Stocks' year-to-date return to +6.05%, while World Stocks extended their impressive lead with an +18.49% return for the year.Commodities rebounded significantly with a +4.11% gain in June, moving back into positive territory for the year at +1.23%. Hedge Funds contributed positively with a +1.53% monthly return, brin...| RCM Alternatives
It sure seems like world renowned investor Paul Tudor Jones (PTJ) was pitching the exact product the smart folks over at ReturnStacked ETFs launched. PTJ is known for calling the 1987 market crash, and generally having big opinions on big market moves over the years. He was mostly right (gold and bitcoin) last November, while somewhat wrong (or maybe just early) saying Commodities were underpriced. (see our old post here). And now he’s adding equities to the mix, telling Bloomberg in ...| RCM Alternatives
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 our VIX spike chart in our updated VIX/VOL whitepaper… [download here] And it left many investors wondering out loud - how do you protect against wild, social media driven volatility spikes like these… Forbes was bumping up agai...| RCM Alternatives
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 […]| RCM Alternatives
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, and systematic trading.The conversation explores the world of commodity houses and physical trading of commodities, befor...| RCM Alternatives
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 investments, and maintaining intergenerational equity.The discussion covers Baylo...| RCM Alternatives
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" – our signature emergency broadcasts reserved for the financial world's most shocking moments.Together, Jeff and Vineer dissect the tariff chaos sending shockwaves through global...| RCM Alternatives
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 bear market territory (down 21.5% and 21%, respectively). But Mr. Trend hasn’t answered the call… thus far. The SG CTA Index is down -5.3%, SG Trend Index down -7.3% through Thursday, April 3rd, a...| RCM Alternatives
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 market trends is similar to understanding herd behavior, navigating complex market correlations, and maintaining resilience during challeng...| RCM Alternatives
Trading futures, forex, and other commodity interests involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.Diversification stands as one of investing's most powerful concepts—yet many investors still misunderstand its true value. Beyond simply "not putting all your eggs in one basket," proper diversification can create resilience against market volatility while potentially improving long-term returns. Let's...| RCM Alternatives
In this episode, we dive deep into the current state of AI… getting to its transformative impact on the alternative investments landscape. Our guest, Mohammad Rasouli, is a renowned researcher at Stanford University and the founder and CEO of AIx2, a leading AI solutions provider for private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds. Mohammad shares […]| RCM Alternatives
As the final whistle blew on December 2024, the asset class scoreboard showed a tough month for most players, with only a few bright spots. Managed Futures showed some resilience, posting a solid gain of +1.27% in December, although that was mainly a bounce back from a down month in November. Elsewhere, most other asset classes struggled to stay afloat. Commodities also managed to finish in the green with a +2.98% gain, recovering from November losses. However, the rest of the field faltered,...| RCM Alternatives
Remember back in 2021 when Rodrigo Gordillo, Adam Butler, and Corey Hoffstein introduced us to "Return Stacking"? What started as an intriguing whitepaper has blossomed into something much bigger, transforming how many of us think about portfolio construction. Let's dive into how this concept has evolved and why it matters even more today.The Basics Haven't Changed (But The World Has)At its heart, return stacking remains beautifully simple - it's about using leverage intelligently to enhance ...| RCM Alternatives
As Ferris Bueller famously said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."In that spirit, we thought we’d take a minute and look around at this impressive stock market we’re in. The stock market has been absolutely roaring. The S&P 500 is up about 30% this year (+28.07% through December 9th), and has surged more than 75% since the depths of September 2022. How does this spectacular run stack up historically?Breaking Down the NumbersL...| RCM Alternatives
In October, most asset classes experienced setbacks amid increased market volatility:Global equities faced significant headwinds, with the ACWX world stock index falling -4.65% on concerns over slowing economic growth and geopolitical tensions. U.S. stocks showed more resilience but still declined, with the S&P 500 slipping -0.89%.Real estate also encountered challenges, with the IYR index dropping -3.49% as rising borrowing costs and economic uncertainty weighed on the sector. Speaking of th...| RCM Alternatives
In September, most asset classes saw a slight upward trajectory, except for commodities, which have continued to slip since July:U.S. real estate maintained its momentum, with the IYR index gaining +3.07%, as favorable mortgage rates and sustained demand persisted. Global equities extended their advance, with the ACWX world stock index rising +2.64% and the S&P 500 climbing +2.10%, driven by positive economic data.Bonds delivered solid returns, with the BND index up +1.31%, as yields remained...| RCM Alternatives
🎉 August was a wild ride for asset classes! 🎢U.S. real estate stole the show, with the IYR index showed gains of 5.40% as lower mortgage rates had buyers jumping for joy! U.S. and global equities also advanced, with the S&P 500 rising 2.34% and the ACWX world stock index climbing 2.71% on solid corporate earnings.Bonds delivered positive returns of 1.45% as Treasury yields stabilized. Hedge funds increased by 0.76%, with the QAI index benefiting from diversified strategies across asse...| RCM Alternatives
Kicking off in the third quarter, the month of July delivered a moderately positive performance across the major asset classes. There were not exceedingly great gains, but mostly, all were above the red, with only a couple suffering from declines. Commodities retreated, with the GSG index slipping -2.89% and falling to the bottom of the chart. Though relatively strong initially, they have begun to lose their luster coming off the 2nd and starting this 3rd quarter. Managed futures strategies t...| RCM Alternatives
In June 2024, most asset classes delivered positive returns, with U.S. stocks leading the pack:U.S. equities showed strong performance, with the S&P 500 climbing +3.53%, continuing the positive momentum from May. This robust growth in the domestic market contrasts with the slight decline in World stocks, which fell by -0.43%.U.S. Real Estate maintained its upward trajectory, gaining +1.88% in June, following a strong showing in May; this suggests a continued recovery in the property market de...| RCM Alternatives
We’re back! Today’s podcast features The Derivative show stoppers Rodrigo Gordillo and Adam Butler of Resolve Asset Management discussing the carry trade and its applications in investment strategies. They begin by explaining what the carry trade is and discussing common misconceptions around it. They then dive into different types of carry that can be found in various asset classes like bonds, commodities, currencies, and equities. The guests discuss how carry strategies can be implement...| RCM Alternatives
In May, most asset classes rebounded after April's pullback: U.S. stocks led the way, with the S&P 500 gaining an impressive +5.06% as corporate earnings showed resilience. Real estate also recovered, with the IYR index climbing +4.93% as lower mortgage rates renewed demand. International shares participated in the rally, rising +3.95%. Bonds stabilized, with the Barclays Aggregate index gaining +1.68% as yields pulled back from recent highs. Hedge funds captured the upside with more direct...| RCM Alternatives
April represented a step back following March's gains, aside from Managed Futures being the star of the show this month.Commodities demonstrated resilience, posting a modest +0.95% growth despite the turbulence induced by the prospects of normalizing financial conditions. This volatility led to portfolio recalibration across sectors.Managed futures strategies once more, demonstrating relative resilience, advancing +1.99% through balanced long-short exposures, and leveraging their flexible fra...| RCM Alternatives
