SI371: Trends Don’t Form Randomly. They Form Reflexively ft. Richard Brennan

25/10/2025 1h 17min
SI371: Trends Don’t Form Randomly. They Form Reflexively ft. Richard Brennan

Listen "SI371: Trends Don’t Form Randomly. They Form Reflexively ft. Richard Brennan"

Episode Synopsis

Richard Brennan returns this week to explore how markets truly move - not through randomness or rationality, but through impact, feedback, and memory. What begins with a single trade builds into structure, not pattern; alignment, not noise. Drawing from neuroscience and fractal geometry, Rich challenges the idea that markets can be understood without understanding interaction. The episode builds toward a pointed exchange on position sizing - closed equity versus dynamic exposure - not as a technical footnote, but as a reflection of first principles. In a system where the path shapes the outcome, how you define risk... often reveals how you think the world works.-----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 [email protected] 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 Rich on Twitter.Episode TimeStamps:00:00:00 – Welcome to the Systematic Investor Series00:00:23 – Niels’ intro, show setup, and warm welcome to Rich00:00:57 – Heatwave down under: context and small talk00:02:10 – Rich: divided brain, AI vs embodiment, and markets needing rules00:07:50 – AI’s edge shrinks prediction windows; why that helps trend following00:10:35 – Gold’s violent selloff; electricity vs oil as the new macro lens00:14:51 – “Trend heaven”: why the backdrop now looks robust00:18:12 – Post-GFC compression vs today’s decoupling and trends00:22:43 – Impact and reflexivity: trades reshape the next trade00:28:23 – Non-ergodic markets: path dependence beats Gaussian assumptions00:35:48 – Volatility ≠...

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