Surviving the Markets

Surviving the Markets: Brett Steenbarger on Risk, Strategy, and Success

In this episode of the Two Blokes Trading Podcast, we discuss surviving the markets, risk, strategy, and success. Dr. Brett Steenbarger, a clinical psychologist and performance coach to top hedge funds, joins Jonathan Farrelly for an in-depth discussion about the mindset, strategy, and cognitive tools needed to excel in today’s volatile financial markets. 

Dr. Steenbarger shares his journey from academia to Wall Street, and why psychology plays a critical role in navigating risk and building lasting trading success. This conversation covers everything from journaling and risk control to the integration of quant signals and AI tools. Whether you’re a part-time retail trader or managing a trading desk, the insights from this episode will help you reframe your mindset, optimize your performance, and build resilience. 

This episode also dives into the real-world practices used by elite traders — including feedback loops, team collaboration, data-backed decisions, and how emotions can be used as a strength rather than a weakness. 

With trading psychology as the central theme, this episode is essential listening for anyone serious about trading as a long-term pursuit. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

You’ll learn how trading psychology separates elite traders from average ones. Dr. Brett Steenbarger explains how emotional regulation, mental discipline, and structured feedback systems can be just as important as technical strategies. He shares how journaling daily successes and failures helps traders accelerate performance, and why psychological resilience is essential during market drawdowns. 

We also discuss the practical fusion of discretionary trading with quant signals, and how hedge funds are leveraging clean data and AI to improve decision-making. Steenbarger emphasizes the importance of adapting to different market environments, developing multiple edges, and constantly learning to stay ahead. 

You’ll hear why performance reviews, sharp risk-adjusted returns, and return correlations are key metrics in hedge fund evaluations—and how even retail traders can apply these metrics at scale. Perhaps most valuable, Dr. Steenbarger introduces groundbreaking brainwave training tech that helps traders increase focus in real-time, a method he personally uses. 

From building a learning P&L to mastering emotional feedback loops, this episode gives you actionable insights backed by psychology, performance science, and hedge fund best practices.