Emil van Essen has been involved in the managed futures world for 25 years. He has run successful brokerage operations, hedging programs, commodity trading advisors and commodity pools. Van Essen has a passion for finding new sources of alpha. Perhaps it is because he came to the world of managed futures late in the game when the trend following space was crowded.

Eric Dugan was taught to work hard from an early age, which led him to not turn down opportunities regardless of the position or the hours. This habit allowed him to snag a tremendous opportunity at an early age. So when a friend of his — knowing his penchant for crazy hours — called with an opportunity working on an overnight trading desk, he jumped at the opportunity.

When the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) bought the New York Board of Trade in 2006, David Martin understood that his floor trading days were numbered and began to prepare for life as an electronic trader—and eventually as a money manager.

David and James Hamman launched their fundamental Livestock and Grains Program in March of 2010 but it really was decades in the making.