Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Trading in any market conditions - how Tom Basso managed $600 million across 28 years using extreme diversification, 50 positions, and 10 simultaneous strategies.
► Full article: bettersystemtrader.com/7-tips-to-profit-and-protect-your-trading-in-any-market-conditions-with-market-wizard-tom-basso
In this episode:
- Why running 50 positions means a single bad trade represents 0.1% of your portfolio instead of a crisis - and how to think about position sizing at that scale
- The "filling the potholes" concept: how to identify which strategies to add by looking at when your portfolio performs worst
- Why Tom never shifts capital between strategies based on recent performance - and what fixed allocations actually protect you from
- The engine analogy: how multiple strategies working at different phases smooth the overall equity curve
0:00 Introduction
1:42 Background: 28 years, $600 million, the "enjoy the ride" philosophy
6:35 Position sizing and why 50 positions changes everything
8:29 Awareness and discipline - the psychological framework
11:06 Extreme diversification in practice
11:24 The "filling the potholes" concept
13:40 Building toward 50 positions from any starting point
16:26 How to select genuinely uncorrelated positions
Related episodes:
- "How to achieve consistent equity growth with multiple layers of diversification" - Nick Radge: youtu.be/HwE21RsUegs
- "Effective Market Regime Techniques" with Cesar Alvarez: youtu.be/cOsHyPSXc-8
- How to detect when a strategy is failing - Kevin Davey: youtu.be/_dMbZfALIAQ
Tom Basso ran money professionally for 28 years, managing up to $600 million across 30 futures markets, multiple ETFs, option credit spreads, and 10 simultaneous strategies. His framework for trading in any market conditions rests on two pillars - position sizing and psychological discipline - combined with what he calls extreme diversification. When one of his 50 positions moves sharply against him, it is roughly a tenth of a percent of his portfolio. That math is what lets him keep following the plan when conditions get difficult.
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► Better System Trader: bettersystemtrader.com
► Follow on X: twitter.com/bettersystrader
#TradingRiskManagement #SystemTrading #AlgoTrading
Disclaimer:
Trading in the financial markets involves a substantial risk of loss. All content produced by Better System Trader is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute trading or investment advice.
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Trading in any market conditions - how Tom Basso managed $600 million across 28 years using extreme diversification, 50 positions, and 10 simultaneous strategies.
► Full article: bettersystemtrader.com/7-tips-to-profit-and-protect-your-trading-in-any-market-conditions-with-market-wizard-tom-basso
In this episode:
- Why running 50 positions means a single bad trade represents 0.1% of your portfolio instead of a crisis - and how to think about position sizing at that scale
- The "filling the potholes" concept: how to identify which strategies to add by looking at when your portfolio performs worst
- Why Tom never shifts capital between strategies based on recent performance - and what fixed allocations actually protect you from
- The engine analogy: how multiple strategies working at different phases smooth the overall equity curve
0:00 Introduction
1:42 Background: 28 years, $600 million, the "enjoy the ride" philosophy
6:35 Position sizing and why 50 positions changes everything
8:29 Awareness and discipline - the psychological framework
11:06 Extreme diversification in practice
11:24 The "filling the potholes" concept
13:40 Building toward 50 positions from any starting point
16:26 How to select genuinely uncorrelated positions
Related episodes:
- "How to achieve consistent equity growth with multiple layers of diversification" - Nick Radge: youtu.be/HwE21RsUegs
- "Effective Market Regime Techniques" with Cesar Alvarez: youtu.be/cOsHyPSXc-8
- How to detect when a strategy is failing - Kevin Davey: youtu.be/_dMbZfALIAQ
Tom Basso ran money professionally for 28 years, managing up to $600 million across 30 futures markets, multiple ETFs, option credit spreads, and 10 simultaneous strategies. His framework for trading in any market conditions rests on two pillars - position sizing and psychological discipline - combined with what he calls extreme diversification. When one of his 50 positions moves sharply against him, it is roughly a tenth of a percent of his portfolio. That math is what lets him keep following the plan when conditions get difficult.
---
► Better System Trader: bettersystemtrader.com
► Follow on X: twitter.com/bettersystrader
#TradingRiskManagement #SystemTrading #AlgoTrading
Disclaimer:
Trading in the financial markets involves a substantial risk of loss. All content produced by Better System Trader is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute trading or investment advice.
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