SI417: What Happens When AI Starts Trading the Markets ft. Rob Carver

Niels Kaastrup-Larsen and Rob Carver discuss a market that feels unusually calm despite growing pressure beneath the surface. They look at rising concerns around government debt and bond yields, recent changes to a major managed futures ETF, and why style drift matters for systematic investors. Rob explains why simplicity and robustness remain essential when building trading systems, and where discretion can and cannot fit into a systematic process. They also explore the risks of using AI in quantitative investing, whether AI-driven traders could change market behavior, and why adapting trend speed to volatility may be more complicated than it first appears.-----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.comAnd 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 Rob on Twitter.Episode TimeStamps:00:00 - Introduction and Rob’s return from the summer break02:03 - Why everyone is suddenly talking about bonds05:07 - Treasury buybacks and the potential for new bond trends07:40 - What happened to the Simplify managed futures ETF?14:34 - Style drift, investor expectations and changing strategies17:15 - Why it feels like something is about to happen in markets20:23 - Trend following performance and the year so far23:32 - How much should systematic investors actually optimize?31:38 - Can discretion and systematic trading really work together?36:37 - Where human judgment belongs in a trading strategy40:55 - Why traders may be better at buying than selling44:21 - AI, quant research and the risks of automated trading52:42 - Revisiting volatility and trend following55:47 - Why not all high-volatility markets are the same01:00:23 - The quant winter and why manager diversification mattersCopyright © 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 Here2. Daily Trend Barometer and Market Score One of the things I’