About this episode
Joe Kelly, partner at Campbell & Co., joins us this week for a new episode of The Derivative. Jeff starts talking skiing, as he’s apt to do, but this time is a bit different, with Joe sharing an update on his recent recovery from a nasty ski accident that nearly left him paralyzed (or worse). We
then move right into Joe discussing his career journey from trader to founding a FinTech startup during the tech bubble, to joining the long-time managed futures standout Campbell & Company.
Joe touches on the firm's focus on collaboration and shared research culture differing from the classic ‘pod shop’ model. Kelly and Malec discuss Campbell's investment strategies, including trend following, quantitative macro, long/short equity, and short-term trading.
They also debate systematic macro strategies versus global macro versus trend following; while touching on risk management, portfolio construction, and the challenges of managing non-correlated investments. Kelly provides insights into Campbell's future plans, including enhancing short-term capabilities with AI and considering new asset classes. This episode has it all! A little alternative investment history tour, a peek inside one of the most successful Alts firms of all time, and bringing it back full circle, overcoming adversity through resilience. SEND IT!
Chapters:
00:00-01:50=Intro
01:51-13:04= Skiing gone wrong and finding resilience to
defy the odds
13:05-22:10= Early trading days: FinTech, Hedging stock
options, Rotella Capital, and industry revolution
22:11-35:57= A Campbell opportunity, firm culture &
collaboration in investment management
35:58-48:03= A 4 Bucket approach, stable vol, convexity
locked in, & transparency for portfolios
48:04-58:29= Quant Macro vs Trend – Momentum signals and relative value strategies / Replication: Impossible?
58:30-01:06:19= What’s next? Date density and Short-term opportunities - Wait, what about A.I.?
From the episode:
MMI Index Article (Blast from the past: How futures saved stocks)
Panel Event Podcast with Joe Kelly (Why Systematic, Why CTA? Why Now?)
Andrew Beer on The Derivative episode (Fund replication)
Check out our Trend Following Guide!
Follow along with Joe on LinkedIn and for more information visit Campbell's website at
