TTU126: Trend Following + Something ft. Kevin Cole, CEO & CIO at Campbell & Co.

Today, we are joined by Kevin Cole, CEO and CIO at Campbell & Co, for a conversation on their approach to using trend following in their trading, with a focus on absolute return. We discuss their investment philosophy and the evolution of their expanded trading strategy, how they moved beyond pure trend using equities and how they use a multi-strat approach to stay diversified. We also discuss how they feel about being replicated and how they use their research process to keep an edge over their competitors, how they capture the underlying momentum factors of trend and how they implement ESG in their trading strategy. Lastly, we discuss how they approach risk management and position sizing, their view on capacity and fees in the industry and much more. ----- 50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE ----- Follow Niels on Twitter , LinkedIn , YouTube or via the TTU website . IT’s TRUE ? – most CIO’s read 50+ books each year – get your FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide to the Best Investment Books ever written here . And you can get a free copy of my latest book “ Ten Reasons to Add Trend Following to Your Portfolio ” here . Learn more about the Trend Barometer here . Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.com And please share this episode with a like-minded friend and leave an honest Rating & Review on iTunes or Spotify so more people can discover the podcast. Follow Alan on Twitter . Learn more about Campbell Episode Timestamps: 02:07 - Introduction to Campbell & Co 03:53 - Their investment philosophy 06:07 - The objectives of their work 08:37 - Moving beyond trend following 12:27 - Their approach to trading equities 15:11 - Staying diversified 19:59 - Using constraints 21:54 - Thoughts on replication 26:45 - What is a good research process? 31:46 - Balancing the adaptability 36:23 - Trading more markets = better? 41:47 - Dealing with ESGs 47:02 - Their risk management process 51:46 - Being discrete 56:19 - Static or dynamic position size? 59:35 - Capacity in the industry 01:04:27 - Advice on return expectations 01:07:11 - Vanilla vs. sophisticated trend follower 01:09:29 - Managing cash 01:11:07 - What do you disagree with the most? 01:12:07 - Expectations for 2023 01:12:57 - Thanks for listening Copyright © 2025 – CMC AG – All Rights Reserved ---- PLUS: Whenever you're ready... here are 3 ways I can help you in your investment Journey: 1. eBooks that cover key topics that you need to know about In my eBooks, I put together some key discoveries and things I have learnt during the more than 3 decades I have worked in the Trend Following industry, which I hope you will find useful. Click Here 2. Daily Trend Barometer and Market Score One of the things I’m really proud of, is the fact that I have managed to published the Trend Barometer and Market Score each day for more than a decade...as these tools are really good at describing the environment for trend following managers as well as giving insights into the general positioning of a trend following strategy! Click Here 3. Other Resources that can help you And if you are hungry for more useful resources from the trend following world...check out some precious resources that I have found over the years to be really valuable. Click Here Privacy Policy Disclaimer