He Built the Fund He'd Hold 30 Years | Eric Crittenden on What Investors Pick When Labels Come Off

Eric Crittenden joins Matt Zeigler and Jason Buck for a deep dive into trend following and managed futures.
They discuss why systematic macro trend investing works, how risk transfer creates a return premium, and how trend can fit inside a diversified all-weather portfolio.
Standpoint Funds
standpointfunds.com
Topics covered:
• Why trend following can struggle during fast reversals and thrive after regime shifts

• How systematic investors manage whipsaws, drawdowns, and emotional pressure

• The trade-offs between short-term, medium-term, and long-term trend signals

• Why Eric prefers simple, durable systems over complex models and constant tinkering

• When it makes sense to remove a futures market from a systematic portfolio

• Why trend following may earn a risk transfer premium from hedgers and commercial users

• How copper producers, options markets, and insurance help explain trend following returns

• Why rising interest rates and short bond positions can benefit managed futures

• How trend following can pair with global equities in an all-weather portfolio

• Why smoothing a trend strategy can reduce its value when investors need convexity most

• The behavioral challenge of holding diversifiers that look wrong at the wrong time

• Why investors and advisors often want alternatives but struggle to stick with them

Timestamps:
00:00 Why trend following opportunities appear under pressure
04:39 Pro-growth positioning before the whipsaw
09:32 Short-term vs long-term trend signals
13:46 The danger of tinkering with systematic strategies
18:43 What actually changes in a durable process
23:27 Rising rates, short bonds, and collateral yield
28:00 Copper hedging and why trend followers buy rising prices
32:00 Options, insurance, and risk transfer through time
36:28 Regime shifts and supply-demand imbalances
41:00 What investors choose when asset classes are anonymized
45:11 Building a portfolio for 30-year terminal wealth
50:06 Why portfolio construction is different than judging individual strategies
56:15 Why trend following and value investing require faith
01:00:42 Reducing errors vs chasing highlight-reel winners
01:05:36 Where to follow Eric and Standpoint