“The project was started with buying computers and getting data. That’s how far they were, so when I came there, they said, ‘we have computers and we have data, we hope you can do something with it’. For a mathematician, that’s a nice way to start.” - Harold de Boer (Tweet)
Harold De Boer is a Managing Director, Member of Management Committee and Member of Board of Directors at Transtrend B.V. Growing up, Harold's interest in statistics grew out of his work at his family's dairy farm, and expanded into the world of trading and managed futures. Listen in to learn about Harold's unique perspective on the industry, his marketing philosophy, and some of the most important lessons he's learned during his successful career.
Thanks for listening and please welcome our guest Harold de Boer.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
- How Harold got started with statistics at a young age
- Why Harold’s first job as a mathematician was intended to be only temporary
- How that first job transformed into Harold’s work at Transtrend
“There is no existing CTA that exists for a long time that will constantly be doing the same thing. ” - Harold de Boer (Tweet)
- When the Turtles project was discovered by Transtrend in its early years
- How being bought by a larger organization did not affect Transtrend’s operation
- Some of Harold’s biggest lessons he has learned
“The 1990’s was when we were slowly developing, but also the 1990’s was a period in which stock markets were rising almost constantly, so outperforming the stock index was almost impossible.” - Harold de Boer (Tweet)
- How his time on a dairy farm informs Harold’s approach to trend following
- What investors underestimate and don’t understand about managed futures
- The only thing that actually drives the market
“I think the best [traders] are the ones who prefer high volatility.” - Harold de Boer (Tweet)
- How market dynamics changed as a result of the transition from floor trading to electronic trading
- Why Harold believes that Transtrends program should be called "medium-term"
- Why Harold believes positive alpha does not actually exist
Connect with Transtrend:
Visit the Website: https://www.transtrend.com/
Call Transtrend: +31 10 453 6510
E-Mail Transtrend: info@transtrend.com
Follow Harold de Boer on Linkedin
“I think there is only one ultimate source of return, and that is risk premia, and you have all different types of risk premia you can profit from in some kind of systematic way.” - Harold de Boer (Tweet)