Top Traders Unplugged

ALO35: Why Macro Investing Is Becoming More Systematic ft. George Patterson

Top Traders Unplugged

Show Notes

How do quantitative investors adapt when markets, technology and macro regimes are constantly changing? In this conversation, Alan Dunne sits down with George Patterson, CIO of PGIM Quant Solutions, to explore the evolution of systematic investing from the 1990s to today’s AI driven landscape. They discuss regime detection, inflation risk, portfolio construction, machine learning, private markets, volatility overlays and the growing role of language models in investment research. George also shares insights from decades in quant investing, including lessons from Covid, the importance of model discipline and why communication skills matter as much as technical expertise. ----- 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] 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. Follow George on LinkedIn. Episode TimeStamps: 00:00 - Introduction to George Patterson and his journey from physics to quantitative investing 03:12 - Why multidisciplinary teams matter in modern quant investing 04:13 - Inside PGIM Quant Solutions and the evolution of multi asset investing 06:03 - How markets and macro investing have changed since the 1990s 09:12 - The future of the 60/40 portfolio and institutional portfolio construction 12:11 - Private markets, liquidity challenges and institutional investor concerns 13:25 - Inflation, commodities and building modern inflation hedges 19:33 - Detecting macro regimes using quantitative models 23:26 - The hardest part of systematic investing: trusting the process 27:00 - Covid, model failures and managing regime shifts in real time 30:07 - Portfolio protection, options strategies and volatility overlays 32:01 - How AI and large language models are transforming quantitative research 40:02 - Fiscal risks, inflation concerns and the changing rate environment 44:26 - Simplicity versus complexity in quantitative model design 48:05 - Why markets evolve faster today and how models must adapt 51:08 - Retail investors, meme stocks and market distortions 53:33 - Emerging markets and where long term opportunities may exist 55:08 - The future of quant investing and the limits of AI hype 57:10 - George Patterson’s career advice for aspiring quants 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

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