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In this interview, Chris Vermeulen—Canadian trader, inventor, and founder behind the “asset revesting” approach—breaks down how he evolved from fundamentals to a pure price-action style focused on ETFs and intermarket flows. He explains why most traders get zapped by volatility, how blowing up early accounts taught him strict risk control, and why he aims to make “the most money with the least amount of trading” by catching only the middle of big, clean trends.
You’ll learn Chris Vermeulen’s core trader strategy in practical terms: how he ranks uncorrelated assets in a volatility hierarchy, waits in cash for high-probability waves, scales out at preset thresholds, and uses tight, adaptive stops to keep drawdowns low while letting winners run for months. We’ll cover why price—not opinions—drives his decisions, when cash is the best position, and how his consistent growth method aims to beat broad indexes with far less stress and screen time.
Chris Vermeulen Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Core philosophy: price first, stress last
Chris Vermeulen keeps it simple: price action leads, everything else follows. He aims to catch the “middle meat” of a move with low stress and minimal screen time, and he treats cash as an active, protective position between waves.
- Trade what price confirms, not what you think “should” happen.
- Skip prediction; react to structure (trend, momentum, breadth) that’s already visible.
- Hold only when your edge is present; otherwise, be in cash.
- Aim for smooth equity curves over home runs—consistency > excitement.
Market universe: liquid ETFs and uncorrelated buckets
He focuses on highly liquid ETFs across equities, bonds, commodities, and currencies to avoid single-stock idiosyncrasies. The goal is to rotate into the strongest, least-correlated waves and sit out the chop.
- Build a core list of liquid ETFs across at least four buckets: equity index, bonds, commodities (gold/silver/oil), and currency proxies.
- Require minimum daily dollar volume (e.g., $50M+) and tight spreads (<0.10%).
- Maintain a correlation map; avoid loading multiple ETFs that move together.
- Favor ETFs with clean trends over headline-driven, gappy products.
Volatility hierarchy: choose position size by “temperament”
Different assets have different “temperaments.” Chris scales exposure based on realized volatility, so a hot market doesn’t dominate risk.
- Rank ETFs weekly by 20–60 day realized volatility.
- Define three tiers: Low (L), Medium (M), High (H); size smaller in H.
- Target a constant portfolio volatility by adjusting position size with ATR or stdev.
- Cap single-position risk at 0.5–1.0% of equity on initial stop distance.
Trend template: trade only when the structure agrees
He looks for aligned structure across timeframes and indicators so entries are rare and high quality. No signal? No trade.
- Trade only when: price > 50 & 200-day MAs (uptrend) or < both (downtrend).
- Require higher-highs/higher-lows (up) or lower-highs/lower-lows (down) on the daily chart.
- Confirm with a rising 20-day MA slope for momentum.
- Skip rangebound markets (MA flat, overlapping bars, low ADX).
Entry triggers: the “sweet-spot” breakout pullback
Chris prefers the first clean continuation after a fresh trend turn—simple, rules-based, and repeatable.
- After a 50/200 MA cross or fresh 20-day breakout, wait for a 2–5 day pullback above the 20-day (uptrends) or below (downtrends).
- Trigger: break of the pullback’s high (up) or low (down) with above-average volume.
- If the price runs away without the pullback, let it go; the next setup will come.
- Avoid entering within minutes of the open; use end-of-day closes to reduce noise.
Stops that breathe, not choke
He uses adaptive, volatility-based exits so winners have room while losers get cut fast.
- Initial stop: 1.5–2.0× ATR below the entry (uptrend) or above (downtrend).
- If the setup bar is long, anchor stop beyond that bar’s extreme to avoid immediate whips.
- Trail using a 2× ATR or a 20-day chandelier stop once trade is +1R.
- Move to break-even only after structure confirms (new swing high/low), not just because price is green.
Scale-out logic: bank strength, keep potential
He takes partial profits into strength and lets the rest ride as long as the trend behaves.
- First scale at +2R to de-risk; take 30–50% off depending on volatility tier.
- Second scale near measured move or prior weekly swing target.
- Hold a runner until the trailing stop or weekly trend break is hit.
- Never add to a loser; only pyramid on fresh signals with a smaller size.
Cash is a position: when to stand down.
A big part of his edge is standing aside during sloppy, mean-reverting regimes.
- Stay flat when the daily 50-day MA is flat and price chops within a tight band.
- Sit in cash if your last 5–7 signals in a bucket were stop-outs or scratch—market not suited to your strategy.
- Re-engage only after a clear weekly close outside the range with rising momentum.
- Keep a written “no trade” checklist and honor it.
Intermarket flow: rotate, don’t predict
He rotates among equity, bond, commodity, and currency ETFs as leadership changes—no need to guess macro, just follow flows.
- Weekly, rank buckets by relative strength (e.g., 4–12 week rate of change).
- Shift risk toward the top two buckets; reduce or cut exposure in the bottom two.
- If all buckets are weak or correlated to the downside, hold more cash or hedge with bond/defensive ETFs.
- Rebalance exposure only on weekly closes to avoid whipsaws.
Risk budget: protect the equity curve first
Capital survives by respecting hard limits. Chris caps portfolio heat, so a string of trades can’t derail compounding.
- Portfolio “heat” cap: sum of open risk ≤ 3–5% of equity across all positions.
- Max simultaneous positions by volatility tier (e.g., 4 L, 3 M, 2 H).
- Hard monthly drawdown stop (e.g., −6%): cut all positions to cash and trade half-size next month.
- Increase size only after recovering prior high-water mark by at least +2%.
Timeframes & rhythm: weekly plan, daily execution
He plans on weekly charts and executes on daily closes—calm, rules-driven, and scalable.
- Do selection and ranking on weekends; set conditional levels for the week.
- Place orders after the close or pre-market for the next day; avoid intraday tinkering.
- Review positions once per day; update stops and scale targets only on closes.
- Limit screen time; if it’s not on the plan, it’s not in the account.
Playbook for risk-on vs. risk-off
He has two gears. When conditions are right, step on the gas (within risk limits). When they’re not, coast in cash.
- Risk-on: leadership in equities/commodities, rising ADX, expanding breadth → deploy up to full risk budget with trend setups.
- Neutral: mixed signals → half risk budget, focus on the strongest single bucket.
- Risk-off: falling trends, correlations spiking, credit/fear proxies widening → reduce to cash/defensive ETFs, tighten stops, skip new longs.
- Return to risk-on only after weekly confirmation (trend + momentum + breadth).
ETF examples & substitutions logic
He treats ETFs as building blocks rather than opinions about specific names.
- For broad equities, choose one index ETF (e.g., large-cap or mid-cap), not three that track the same move.
- For metals, pick the cleaner trending metal ETF; if silver leads and trends cleanly, rotate from gold rather than doubling up.
- For bonds, use the duration that trends best; if whippy, reduce size or skip the bucket.
- Replace any ETF that shows chronic gaps, low volume, or tracking error.
A trade journal that trains discipline
Data beats memory. He logs the same fields every time to refine rules and keep emotions out.
- Record: setup name, bucket, volatility tier, entry/stop/targets, risk per trade, R multiple outcome, and notes on execution.
- Tag common errors (chasing, early exit, skipping rules) and set a monthly fix goal.
- Review losers first; adjust rules only with 30+ trade sample evidence.
- Keep screenshots of the weekly and daily at entry and at exit for pattern clarity.
Advanced: pyramiding with guardrails
When trends run for months, he may pyramid—carefully—to compound without spiking risk.
- Add only after prior scale-out and only if the ATR-adjusted stop keeps total heat ≤ cap.
- New add must be a fresh continuation setup, not a random add-on.
- Trail the whole stack with a common volatility stop to avoid getting chopped piecemeal.
- If equity curve volatility jumps (std dev > threshold), pause new adds.
Simplicity filter: subtract until it works
His final edge is subtraction—fewer markets, fewer signals, fewer exceptions.
- Remove any rule you can’t explain in one sentence.
- If two indicators say the same thing, drop one.
- If a setup underperforms for a quarter, bench it and re-test before reinstating.
- If a decision requires a news story to justify, you’re off-plan—skip it.
Size Positions by Volatility, Keep Portfolio Heat Low and Controlled
Chris Vermeulen sizes every trade by volatility, so a fast market never hijacks his entire account. He defines risk in dollars first, then converts that into shares using ATR or recent standard deviation, so each idea risks roughly the same percentage of equity. When volatility expands, size shrinks; when volatility contracts, size can step up—always within a pre-set cap. This keeps losers small and comparable while letting winners express themselves without blowing up the equity curve.
He also watches the total portfolio “heat” so multiple positions don’t stack hidden risk. If several trades are on, he adds up their initial R and refuses to exceed a hard ceiling—think 3–5% of equity at risk across the book. When heat gets close to the limit, he passes on new entries or scales down to stay within guardrails. That discipline lets Chris Vermeulen trade confidently through turbulence while preserving the ability to press when conditions are smooth.
Trade the Middle of Trends, Skip Predictions and Early Tops
Chris Vermeulen focuses on the clean, tradable middle of a trend instead of trying to nail bottoms or call tops. He waits for structure to turn up and confirm with higher highs, rising moving averages, and momentum that says “this is moving,” then he steps in. No guessing macro, no catching falling knives—just joining established direction when the odds look stacked.
By skipping the first and last parts of a move, Chris Vermeulen reduces whip risk and decision stress. He’d rather miss the first 10% and the last 10% to capture the 60–80% that’s smooth and scalable. If a chart gets parabolic or choppy, he stands aside and protects mental capital. The rule is simple: when price action behaves, ride it; when it gets messy, exit and wait for the next clean trend.
Rotate Among Uncorrelated ETFs; Sit in Cash During Chop
Chris Vermeulen rotates into whatever bucket is leading—equities, bonds, commodities, or currency proxies—so he’s always aligned with strength without concentrating risk in one theme. He tracks relative strength on weekly timeframes, favors the top two leaders, and deliberately avoids stacking exposure in highly correlated ETFs that all sink together. When leadership flips, he rotates rather than argues, treating cash as the default until a fresh wave proves itself. This keeps his capital flowing toward clean trends while dodging crowded, news-driven noise.
When markets slip into overlapping bars and flat moving averages, Chris Vermeulen steps off the gas and parks in cash. He doesn’t force trades in ranges or mean-reverting periods because unnecessary entries just inflate drawdowns and stress. By waiting for directional thrust and confirmation before redeploying, he preserves equity and mental bandwidth for the next genuine run. The result is smoother compounding powered by rotation into strength and disciplined inactivity during chop.
Use ATR Stops, Take Partial Profits at Predefined Targets
Chris Vermeulen sets initial stops using a multiple of ATR so the trade has breathing room without turning into a hope-and-pray hold. Once price moves his way, he converts the stop to a trailing, volatility-based level so structure—not emotion—dictates when to exit. This keeps losses small, lets winners run, and avoids getting shaken out by normal market noise.
For profits, Chris Vermeulen banks strength on schedule with predefined targets—first scale around +2R, then let the remainder trail until the trend breaks. That partial takes pressure off the decision-making and locks in progress while a runner works on the bigger move. If momentum fades or structure weakens, he honors the trailing stop and steps aside. The net effect is a calm, rules-led exit system that compounds without drama.
Weekly Plan, Daily Execution; Process Discipline Over Constant Screen Time
Chris Vermeulen builds the plan on weekends when markets are calm, then simply executes it on daily closes. He maps leadership by bucket, defines entry triggers, stop distances, and scale levels in advance, and writes them down so nothing is decided in the heat of the moment. During the week, he checks prices once a day, updates stops, and places orders—no chasing, no reacting to headlines.
This routine keeps Chris Vermeulen out of impulsive intraday trades and preserves mental capital. If a setup doesn’t meet the written criteria by the close, it’s a pass, not a debate. Missed moves are logged without regret, and changes to rules are made only after reviewing a meaningful sample of trades. The result is a steady rhythm: thoughtful planning, mechanical execution, and a smoother equity curve with far less screen time.
Chris Vermeulen’s core lesson is simple but hard to live: protect capital first, let price action lead, and treat cash as a legitimate position. He builds his book from liquid, uncorrelated ETFs—think broad equity indexes, long-duration Treasuries like TLT, precious metals, and even cash proxies like BIL—then rotates toward whatever’s actually trending. Size comes from volatility, not hunches, so hot markets get smaller positions and calm markets can carry a bit more weight. He avoids the “bug-zapper” lure of chaotic volatility, steering clear of leveraged products and prediction games, and instead waits for clean structure: higher highs, rising moving averages, expanding momentum. When the wave appears, he rides the middle, not the bottom or the top.
Exits are mechanical: initial stops placed by volatility, partial profits banked at predefined thresholds, and a trailing stop that hands winners room to breathe while cutting losers without debate. Portfolio heat is capped, so multiple trades never stack into a hidden all-in bet; if conditions turn choppy or correlations spike, he pares back and lets the account stair-step higher over time rather than swing wildly. Downtrends get different treatment—wider stops, smaller size, or outright avoidance—because falling markets behave differently and demand adaptation. The rhythm is weekly planning and daily execution, with rules written before the bell and honored after the close. Put together, Chris Vermeulen’s playbook is disciplined, ETF-centric, and relentlessly practical: rotate into strength, sit out the noise, and compound through consistent, low-stress decisions.
