SI410: The Next Evolution of Trend Following ft. Nick Baltas

**Niels Kaastrup-Larsen** (0:01)
Welcome to Top Traders Unplugged. In markets, success doesn't come from predicting what happens next. It comes from being prepared for what you can't predict.
In each episode, we go deep with some of the world's most thoughtful minds in investing, economics, and beyond to understand how they think, how they prepare, and how they decide, and the experiences that shaped how they see the world. No noise, no shortcuts, just real conversations to help you think better and invest with confidence.

**Niels Kaastrup-Larsen** (0:35)
Welcome or welcome back to this week's edition of the Systematic Investor Series with Nick Baltas and I, Niels Kaastrup-Larsen, where each week we take the pulse of the global market through the lens of a rules-based investor. And let me also say a warm welcome if today is your first time you're joining us. And if someone who cares about you and your portfolio recommended that you tune in to the podcast, let me also say a big thank you to you for sharing this episode with your friends and colleagues. It really does mean a lot to us.
Nick, it is wonderful to be back with you this week. It's been a little while. How have you been?

**Nick Baltas** (1:08)
It is quite a while, actually. I'm doing very well. And in the goodest thing, Niels, I'm doing very well. It's a very, very busy summer.
We're still busy, but looking forward to the summer break.

**Niels Kaastrup-Larsen** (1:20)
Absolutely.

**Nick Baltas** (1:21)
In a week.

**Niels Kaastrup-Larsen** (1:22)
I think we kind of took a head start. We're wearing matching summer t-shirts today on our recording.

**Nick Baltas** (1:27)
It's a Friday.

**Niels Kaastrup-Larsen** (1:28)
It's a Friday.

**Nick Baltas** (1:29)
It's a summery day in London. It's a summery summer actually in London.

**Niels Kaastrup-Larsen** (1:34)
Absolutely. And I know that you literally just landed to get here for this recording. So I really do appreciate the commitment to the show this week.

**Nick Baltas** (1:48)
Always, always.

**Niels Kaastrup-Larsen** (1:49)
Good, good. We have a few papers, a few different topics. I'm sure we're going to go off track and do other interesting conversations as well in the next hour or so.
But as you know, I always love to hear kind of what's been away from the topics, what's been capturing your attention in the last few weeks that you have found kind of interesting.

**Nick Baltas** (2:14)
I mean, we always talk about kind of the markets in a way, we talk about the markets, we talk about some of the asset class moves and maybe some kind of activity. Maybe I just change the script. So this, it's been like 10 days, I've been kind of listening to another book.
It's an interesting one because the title, maybe you know it right? And we did not prep that at all. So it's kind of a surprise to you. It's called Die with Zero.

**Niels Kaastrup-Larsen** (2:42)
No, I don't know.

**Nick Baltas** (2:44)
Yeah, a friend recommended that to me and said, listen to this or read that and kind of give me your view about it. And it all talks about how we always work long hours and we strive to become better and get paid more and so on and so forth. But the reality is that while money accrues interest, we as human beings accrue memories and memory dividends are ultimately what we care about when we grow older. And the whole point is try to make the best you can to put out time and money to eventually invest in experiences, right? Which ultimately will make up your life period, right?
And therefore kind of looking back, the more of those memories you develop at the right age, with the right people or with the right setting, the happier you'll end up being as time goes by. So it's a bit of a reflection point because obviously we all grow up, we end up having kids, they used to be babies now they're like toddlers, at some point they will go to school and soon after that, they live house. So it's an interesting one, frankly, it's an interesting one. So like Die with Zero, there you are. That's what is on my radar. How should I redial my day to day on that basis?

**Niels Kaastrup-Larsen** (3:57)
Yeah, absolutely. And maybe it'll be the audio book that I'm going to listen to on my next long drive from Switzerland to Denmark. Do and let me know what you think. Yes, I will. I do agree with this thing about experiences. I was sharing with Joav last week that actually I had one kind of in that line in the last couple of weeks because I did go with my family to a wonderful experience, which was a concert in Milan with Bruno Mars. And I like his music, but he's an amazing entertainer. And it just was one of those experiences that you think back of and say, yeah, I'm going to remember this for a long time. So I completely get it.