This week’s podcast is all about performance – following the third of Profit & Loss’ spring Dial-in-Days, editor-in-chief Julie Ros joins Colin Lambert to discuss some of the themes coming out of the events, starting with hedge fund and CTA performance in the recent market upheaval.

Ros dives into the suggestion by panellists in New York that more idiosyncratic, or capacity constrained, strategies worked well, giving Lambert to ideal opportunity to dive in on a regular theme of his – herding and crowded trades – he also, much to the delight of his former co-host Galen Stops no doubt, manages to get a quick dig in about trend following! Lambert also picks up on speakers’ observations that nimble macro and discretionary funds seemed to do best when the world gets turned upside down, highlighting the reactionary role of data in decision making. When Ros asks about FX market performance Lambert doubles down by noting that data shows everything is OK…until it isn’t!

Lambert then highlights what to him at least was something new – investment advisors and allocators talking openly about the possibility of allocating to crypto. Ros talks about the recent surge in offerings in the crypto prime space, leading to a spirited chicken and egg discussion about whether banks are needed to lead the way in this space – in turn this sees Lambert, as is often the case, manage to argue with himself!