Top Traders Unplugged

SI386: When Position Sizing Saves You ft. Rob Carver

70 snips
Feb 7, 2026
Guest
Rob Carver
Rob Carver, quantitative investor and author specializing in systematic trading and risk management. He breaks down silver’s wild spike and collapse, explains volatility-adjusted position sizing and why scaling back saved capital, and explores liquidity myths, cross-asset dislocations, and portfolio construction trade-offs in fast markets.
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ADVICE

Volatility-Adjusted Position Sizing

  • Adjust positions as volatility changes rather than holding fixed notional exposure to prevent outsized one-day losses.
  • Reduce position size when volatility rises and increase when it falls to maintain stable portfolio risk.
ADVICE

Treat Liquidity As Variable, Not Constant

  • Size positions smaller in less-liquid markets and check long-term liquidity, not just recent volume spikes.
  • Expect liquidity to evaporate in fast moves and avoid assuming peak volume equals persistent tradability.
ANECDOTE

The Hunt Silver Leverage Story

  • Niels recounts Nelson Bunker Hunt buying physical silver with borrowed money, chartering planes to move it to vaults in Switzerland.
  • His leveraged position blew up after margin changes and forced selling, a classic cautionary tale about pyramiding risk.
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