The mark of great writing is encapsulating the essence of a complicated idea in a memorable and accessible way. It’s more than a little humbling that this scene from Landman in a little over 20 seconds does a better job than our previous 90 blog posts and 8 whitepapers in explaining futures markets, economic risk and (with some poetic license) our approach to portfolio construction and CTAs (Managed Futures). In the show, Tommy Norris is a Texas oil fixer and explains oil pricing like this:

“You want oil to live above 60 but below 90. And don’t get me wrong, we’re still printing money at 90, but… gas gets up over $3.50 a gallon, it starts to pinch. It hits a hundred, every product in America has to readjust its price. $78 a barrel, that’s about perfect. You know, brings enough profit to keep exploring, but it don’t sting as much at the pump.”

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