Jerry Parker and Michael Covel Discuss ETF with Blueprint
July 14, 2023
Jerry Parker, legendary Turtle Trader and Portfolio Manager of the Blueprint Chesapeake Multi-Asset Trend ETF (ticker: TFPN), appeared on Michael Covel’s Trend Following Radio podcast. The pair discussed the nuances of trend following, Parker’s start in the Turtle Trading program and continued passion for trend following, hunting outliers, and the new TFPN ETF that is sub-advised by Parker’s Chesapeake Capital Corporation and Blueprint Fund Management.
Throughout the conversation, Parker noted some of the drawbacks associated with many traditional liquid and alternative strategies available to financial advisors today. As a next-generation liquid alt, TFPN intends to solve those challenges. The ETF is constructed in a way that can address concerns about portfolio drag during bull markets, highly correlated return streams, tax efficiency, investor behavior, and overall expenses.
Below are some excerpts from the full interview.
The Role of Simplicity in Sophisticated Trend Following
skip to 13:06 in the audio below
Covel: “The funny thing is, if we listen to any of the voices from all different walks of life in our lifetime or before us – people like the physicist Richard Feynman or Steve Jobs of Apple – all you have to do is listen for a few minutes and all these guys say the same thing: simplicity, simplicity. Not complication. Simplicity. Keep it simple.”
Parker: “Today’s managed futures CTAs, they talk a big game. The next paragraph will be something about how it’s not that simple. I think a lot of it is defending the incentive fee.”
skip to 14:30 in the audio below
Covel: “There’s a lot of complex philosophical thought put into a simple system. These simple systems are doing some very complex things. Is that a fair way to say it?”
Parker: “I think so. I haven’t seen better performance than – I call it one entry, one exit stop loss. I haven’t seen materially better performance. If they all had this amazing extra performance, I’d probably just keep my mouth shut, why wouldn’t I? Why would I keep bringing it up? But I haven’t seen much of that.”
The Value of Massive Global Flexibility
skip to 24:18 in the audio below
Covel: “I still think this concept of, ‘My year can be made by anything,’ is a fascinating concept. I think I could sit there for like hours and try to explain to somebody this idea. Even smart people, they just kind of glaze over. There’s something about the idea, that you are agnostic to where the profits come from, like there’s an emotional attachment: ‘I must get my profits from x, y, z.’ And then if you tell people, ‘Well I don’t care where the profits come from,’ it’s kind of like they almost think I’m playing with them or I’m stupid or something.”
Parker: “That’s right. And it can come from anywhere. We’re bombarded all the time by stocks are superior, stocks are the core, stocks have the better trends. And I don’t believe any of that. So, there will be every now and then a certain sector that has the best performance, and it could be for a long period of time. And stocks have their day in the sun probably. And they’re still great. I trade a lot of them, and so I’m always very happy. I’m never rooting against stocks or trends in any market. But it is true that if you’re hunting outliers, as trend following kind of does, you can get that big, huge outlier from anything.”
About Blueprint Fund Management
Blueprint Fund Management designs, distributes, and manages systematic, process-driven, and transparent investment strategies for financial advisors and institutions. The firm aims to make trend following strategies highly accessible to advisors by offering and sub-advising investing strategies that are available as a mutual fund or ETF. Across the product offering, the firm applies a rules-based approach to both asset class and time diversification, instilling discipline and removing human bias during emotionally charged market environments.
About Chesapeake Capital Corporation
Chesapeake Capital Corporation is an innovative provider of systematic alternative investment solutions, including a limited partnership, separately managed accounts, and mutual funds. The firm was founded in 1988 by legendary Turtle Trader Jerry Parker, who continues to serve as the Chairman and CEO. The firm’s consistent, single-minded approach to managing client capital is trend following, and its client base includes private and institutional investors worldwide.
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The Blueprint Chesapeake Multi-Asset Trend ETF (TFPN) is distributed by Foreside Fund Services LLC.
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