Publication date: 4-6-2026
What our traders discussed during the June 2026 Scholarship Chat.
During the S2F Beurspraatje in early June, Simeon Hoefnagels, Ruud van Megen and Henry van Ginkel talked about the current situation in the financial markets. An hour and fifteen minutes of insights, with live questions from the audience. For those who could not be there or want to read back the main points in brief, here is a review.
The three speakers
Simeon Hoefnagels opened as host and led the conversation. Ruud van Megen represented the RVM systems (RVM Strategy, RVM Retirement and RVM Analysis) and spoke from his role as analyst and trader. Henry van Ginkel chimed in as a trader and analyst behind the ES systems on the Systems2follow platform.
"Patience is perhaps the most important thing of all."
Ruud opened with a fundamental investor principle that he kept repeating throughout the broadcast: you want to buy a good company at a low price, not the other way around. Sounds simple, but in practice this means you often have to wait. Often for a long time. If the prices aren't good, he doesn't buy, and then he waits until they are.
It's the same philosophy you see in investors like Warren Buffett: not trading for the sake of trading, but paying attention and waiting for the right setup.
The Buffett indicator: are the stock markets too expensive?
One of the main themes of the evening was valuation. Simeon and Ruud discussed the so-called Buffett indicator: the relationship between stock market valuation and gross national product. If this indicator is at "overvalued," that is a signal to be cautious.
Important to add: this indicator can be at overvalued for an extended period of time. That doesn't mean the market will fall tomorrow. And there is a caveat: large companies like Apple, Nvidia and ASML have global production, while this indicator measures nationally. The numbers are therefore distorted.
AI as a driving force
Ruud and Henry agreed that the AI boom gives a fundamentally different dynamic to this cycle. The difference from previous hypes: money is actually being made now. Companies like Nvidia and Google are showing immense profits, and the valuations behind parties like OpenAI and Anthropic are growing.
The panel's conclusion: this is not a story without substance, as has sometimes been the case in other hypes. Money is actually being made. And when a trend is this strong, this phase can continue for years.
At the same time, the warning sounded that extreme increases are someday followed by extreme decreases. This is exactly why a systematic approach with risk management is so important.
Market neutral or prefer cash?
A viewer raised the question of whether it is smart to go market-neutral at this time. Ruud was explicit about this: he personally prefers cash to market neutral. In his portfolio, he goes either long, or short, or cash. Market neutral does not suit his style.
For the S2F systems, this is more nuanced: the RVM systems operate market neutral and can make returns even in falling markets. Henry's ES systems, on the other hand, benefited greatly from the AI rally and are in a different risk class.
The message to viewers: there is no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on what fits your goal, your horizon and your risk appetite.
What we take away
Three things to take away from the Scholarship talk for the period ahead:
- Patience outweighs timing. Wait for a good price, don't force anything.
- Valuation deserves a look at the macro. The Buffett indicator is high, and while it does not predict when a correction will come, it is a reminder that the trees do not grow to the sky.
- Diversification between systems remains important. One system (RVM, market neutral) performs differently in a downturn than another (ES, momentum). That's also where our combo subscriptions are coming in, keep an eye on our communications.
Watch the full Stock Market talk back
The full recording (1 hour and 16 minutes) is on our YouTube channel:
Click here to watch the webinar.
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