Just got done chatting with Robert A. Kepler of Lenapi Advisors, LLC. Kepler’s systematic prowess contributed to the building of the Global Macro arm of hedge fund titan MKP, but after realizing that the company’s emphasis on managed futures was not going to cut it for them anymore, Kepler and his partner struck out on their own.

They are currently offering one program that is commodity focused, and one is coming up that is forex focused. We were excited to hear about the managed forex program, as good ones are often few and far between. Kepler’s pedigree certainly gives this one a leg up already. We recently started tracking Lenapi’s commodity program on our website, and it will be exciting to see the results rolling in over time.

One interesting observation Robert made was that today, more than ever, investors want to talk to the little guys in the managed futures game. His observation of what we’ll call “Emerging Manager Syndrome” reminded us of the emerging manager piece we did not so long ago. Fascinating stuff.

We also had a chance to catch up with Walter and John regarding their Northfield Trading meeting. Run by Douglas Bry, this multi-strat CTA is comprised of former computer programmers whose focus on mathematic efficiency lead them to pursue a career in developing systems. As thrilled as they are with their performance thus far, don’t think they’re getting lazy now. The folks at Northfield are perpetually researching new programs.

One in particular that sounded interest to us was one based on “neuro-nets.” The idea is that via analysis of past data, the system developed will actually be able to predict market movements for the future. The idea is interesting, even if its execution is well beyond the scope of our minds.

Meetings with Covenant and AQT about to kick off.

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