At nine years old, most children are learning multiplication tables. Sebastian Hellman was picking Sweden's best-performing fund. By his mid-twenties, he had built and exited a multi-country e-commerce operation, generated a quarter of a major company's revenue in under a year, and decided to retire from business operations entirely, not to rest, but to pursue …
At nine years old, most children are learning multiplication tables. Sebastian Hellman was picking Sweden’s best-performing fund. By his mid-twenties, he had built and exited a multi-country e-commerce operation, generated a quarter of a major company’s revenue in under a year, and decided to retire from business operations entirely, not to rest, but to pursue mathematics and physics at the highest levels.
Today, Hellman runs Abelian Investors (Ablion Groups), developing trading strategies and technology for asset management and commodity hedging. His approach bridges pure mathematics with market reality, evidenced by 21 consecutive winning live trading sessions on YouTube and a track record that has caught the attention of presidents, CEOs, and academic institutions alike.
This isn’t a story about prodigy for its own sake. It’s about someone who recognized patterns early, followed them relentlessly, and built a career on a principle as old as markets themselves: the trend is your friend.
The Interview
You picked Sweden’s best-performing fund at age 9 in 1996, Handelsbanken’s Small Cap IT fund. What made you interested in the markets so young, and how did you know to look at IT companies specifically?
My father encouraged me to read the morning newspaper’s fund listings, and he gave me a small portfolio to manage. I had a natural talent for numbers and percentages, so it became something I enjoyed doing. The fund I chose was focused on small and medium-sized IT companies and had an 11% return compared to the second best at 7%. I simply followed the principle “the trend is your friend.”
This was also just after Sweden’s massive real estate crash in 1992, where interest rates reached 400% and many people lost their homes. The global context mattered too, the Soviet Union had just fallen, Japan was in crisis. Even as a child, I was absorbing these macro trends by reading and following the news. My parents were supportive, and honestly, I had to wait through the news to get to the sports section on television, so I learned to pay attention.
Your first currency trade was USD/SEK in June 1998, betting the dollar would break above 8 kronor. Walk me through how a teenager spots that kind of move and has the conviction to act on it.
Again, it came down to following the trend. I made a bet with my father on the dollar-Swedish Krona exchange rate, and I was right. My conviction came from the same habit, reading, following the news, observing what was happening globally. The early ’90s were a period of incredible turbulence, and I was watching it all unfold. When you’re that engaged with the information flow at a young age, patterns start to reveal themselves.
You mention arranging a bet against your CFO father on that currency trade. What was his reaction when you won?
He was a good sport about it. I think he was more impressed than surprised. He had given me the tools to learn, and I was applying them. It validated that I wasn’t just lucky, I was actually understanding what I was seeing in the data.
At 23, you founded an e-commerce business selling energy drinks and supplements across 10 countries. You recruited 60 people in the first three months. How does someone that young build a sales organization that fast?
I had previous sales experience from working at a search media company where I learned from colleagues and contributed to significant revenue growth. I also played semi-pro hockey, which gave me access to a network of influencers, team leaders in various small cities across the region.
My recruitment strategy was straightforward but effective: I would identify the informal leader of a hockey team and pay them to endorse the product before the main meeting. Once that leader was on board, the rest would follow. It created momentum. The timing also helped, I had an injury that allowed me to focus on the business rather than hockey, and I had the confidence from moving between two different sales offices while still playing.
You joined Hemnet’s team at 24 when the company was 13 years old. You sold 55 times your budget and the ads you sold became a quarter of company revenue within 10 months. What did everyone else miss about selling ad space on property maps?
Context matters here: Hemnet became the largest tech IPO of all time in Sweden, which is remarkable given how many IPOs and unicorns Sweden produces relative to its population. My edge came from understanding that the platform was owned by brokers who didn’t prioritize ad revenue. That created an opportunity.
I developed a strategy where I broke down the ad space and reassembled it into regional packages around Sweden’s largest cities. Advertisers would pay for smaller municipalities alongside high-demand areas, which they were willing to do because of how the packages were structured. After seven months, I had achieved 55 times the planned budget.
I left because the ad space became saturated. My manager also modified my sales model to ensure that my team, who were responsible for 95% of the office’s sales, had continued work. It was the right time to move on.
You retired from business operations at 26. Most people are just starting their careers at that age. Why stop, and what does “retirement” actually mean when you’re 26?
I was also winning a scoring title in my semi-pro hockey league at the same time, so I was at a peak professionally in multiple areas. But I felt like I needed to catch up on natural sciences and technology. I had residual income from the energy drink business, so I could fund my time studying mathematics, physics, history of science, and traveling.
Retirement at 26 meant stepping away from operations to pursue long-term learning goals. I wanted to transition into global macro trading, but I knew I needed a deeper foundation in the sciences. It wasn’t about stopping, it was about redirecting my focus to become better at what I ultimately wanted to do.
You worked with Sir Michael Atiyah, who The Guardian called “one of the best British mathematicians since Isaac Newton.” He told you “You can make the theorems and I will make the proofs.” What does it feel like to collaborate with someone at that level?
It was challenging and significant. Atiyah held Newton’s former job and won the Fields Medal. He invited me to work on making theorems, specifically on the unsolved Riemann Hypothesis. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to actually collaborate because he passed away a year after the invitation. But the fact that he saw potential in my work was incredibly validating.
You advised on developing Martin Hairer’s work in probability theory in 2017, and he won the Breakthrough Prize in 2021. What did you see in his work that needed development?
I developed a formula using the work of former Fields medalists Smirnov and Marov to refine Hairer’s work. The formula was deliberately concise, just four letters and it demonstrated a global perspective by integrating the work of non-European mathematicians. I wanted to implicitly challenge the Western bias in scientific accolades.
I used this probability model to predict that Hairer would gain significant recognition, which materialized when he won the $3 million Breakthrough Prize in 2021. I expected no personal recognition for the formula, but I wanted to validate my foresight years later. My early entry into complex subjects, fueled by understanding the field’s history and a good memory, allowed me to learn quickly and establish credibility in research.
You figured out how atoms form molecules from your own thinking, arriving at the same conclusion as Paul Dirac’s equation but 91 years later. How does someone with roughly 1% of high school chemistry knowledge get there independently?
I reasoned that atoms form molecules using the Dirac equation instead of the widely used Schrödinger equation, based on its time-relativistic advantages. My intuition was validated by the head of theoretical chemistry at the Royal Institute of Technology, who confirmed that the Dirac equation is essential. He explained that without it, gold and silver would have the same color.
This experience reinforced my belief that education can be approached differently. You can prioritize understanding the language and concepts at the highest levels of a field rather than working through every introductory step. If you understand what the top minds in a field are doing and why, you can accelerate your learning dramatically.
You’ve done 21 consecutive winning live trading sessions on YouTube. That’s a remarkable streak. What’s your edge, is it the math, the systems, or something else?
It links back to 1996 and that same principle: the trend is your friend. My strategy focuses on basic technical analysis and observing the percentage change in stock or commodity prices, which aligns with asset management principles. I simplify the complex process by focusing on the percentage change and using leverage from futures to profit from small price movements.
I also use a comprehensive trading setup with multiple screens, Bloomberg, CNBC while running educational videos. I train my brain to process complex environments and use subconscious absorption of information. It’s a technique that has proven effective. The fact that I received recognition from both a professor in theoretical nuclear physics and the Minister of Finance in Nigeria in the same week tells me the broad learning approach is working.
In terms of performance, the return is well over 200% if you use 10% of capital, with a biggest drawdown of just 1%. Over two and a half weeks and hundreds of trades, I achieved 20% with only a 0.1% drawdown, which is exceptional for the industry.
Abelian Investors develops trading strategies and technology for asset management and commodity hedging. What makes your approach to price analysis different from everyone else trading with algorithms?
The company is named Abelian Groups, referencing the Abelian group in mathematics. Our system is comprehensive, covering everything from win ratio to portfolio management and price changes. The key is simplicity, which aligns with the philosophy of mathematics.
We assess probabilities from 3.4 million daily contracts to select the best opportunities. We use the win ratio to validate our assessments, for example, confirming an anticipated 80% chance to win by matching historical data. We incorporate many factors, including portfolio management position sizes in percentage and Warren Buffett’s compounding principle, which requires high probabilities to compound successfully.
What makes us unique is that we use “non-coded algorithms.” These are methods or methodologies, not tied to a specific programming language like C++ or Python. They can be adapted to any organization or situation. Clients often want to incorporate specific parts of the system, like momentum trading analysis, and the flexibility allows for that.
You mention loving to trade Asia at night, Europe in the morning, and the US in the evening. Do you actually work those hours regularly, or is that an exaggeration?
It’s not an exaggeration. This schedule is necessary to be connected to the system itself. Global capital flows and geopolitics affect sessions, and by trading across all sessions, I’m more in the mix and reading local news.
I trade when commodities open around midnight in my time zone because it’s vital for gauging the day’s direction. If oil prices rise early, they often continue upward throughout the day. You miss these signals if you’re not watching those sessions. It’s demanding, but it’s how you stay ahead.
In 2020, you booked TV interviews for a former president across BBC, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, and others in three weeks, without a media agency. How does someone with no PR background pull that off?
I leveraged a LinkedIn connection with a former Malawian president and chemistry professor following an oil catastrophe. After large media networks initially declined, I used my experience as a former telephone salesman and in ad sales to cold-call and add 300 people on LinkedIn.
I pitched the interviews by appealing to the media’s interest in the environmental impact of the oil spill and the sensitive geopolitical factors, France and Japan were involved in sinking the boat. I used compelling arguments about environmental concerns and the representation of women on TV to encourage coverage. Also, doing the work for free was a major driver in getting others to help.
You organized “The African Financial Scale Up System” with 15 expert panelists. The former president of the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce called it “one of the best meetings I ever attended.” What made it work?
I stayed quiet and let the experts speak. I acted only as a moderator who knew the participants’ areas of expertise. The event was held online during COVID, which made it easier to gather such a large panel since people were more accessible and accustomed to virtual events. You couldn’t traditionally get 14 people on a stage like that, but the format allowed it.
The key was letting the right people talk about what they know best and getting out of their way.
You’re now producing content and livestreaming trades on YouTube as “Returns by HELLMAN.” Why go public with your trading now after years of working privately?
There’s a current trend of “building in public” that has great energy. I enjoy education, and this is an opportunity for good marketing and personal branding. My approach has always been centered on goal setting and long-term objectives. At age 26, I established a vision to achieve the highest level in various fields simultaneously.
Going public with the trading is consistent with that vision. I want to operate at the highest level in areas like physics and be associated with top global leaders. It’s an athletic mindset, an overachiever’s approach to life and work.
You talk about three vectors: operational efficiency, customer and AUM growth, and alpha generation. Most traders focus on just making money. Why frame it this way?
Operational efficiency is the key element. AUM growth and alpha generation are inherently linked to making money, but if you’re not operationally efficient, you can’t sustain either of those.
Abelian Group is also evolving and branching out into marketing and AI agents, leveraging our background and the explosive growth in AI companies. The three-vector approach ensures we’re building a sustainable business, not just chasing returns.
You’ve lived in France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, UAE, and LA for short periods, visiting 18-20 countries some years. What’s the point of constant movement, are you looking for something specific or just restless?
It’s necessary for my work in global macro trading and global business. An analyst cannot share valid opinions on a country without experiencing it firsthand. I would trust someone local over a fund manager who has never visited the countries they discuss.
This travel allows me to pick up on trends early, which ties back to setting high professional standards. If you want to understand global markets, you need to be in those markets, reading local news, talking to people. It’s not restlessness, it’s research.
Looking back from age 9 following stocks in the newspaper to now, what’s changed about how you see markets, and what hasn’t changed at all?
What’s changed is volatility and the shift from geopolitically motivated crises to crises created for the sake of making money. The power of global news is what sets the trends in the market today. We have figures who manipulate the 24-hour news cycle and the attention economy.
What hasn’t changed is the fundamental principle: the trend is your friend. That worked in 1996, and it works now. Markets move in patterns, and if you can recognize those patterns and have the discipline to follow them, you’ll succeed. The tools have changed, the speed has increased, but the underlying logic of price movement remains the same.
“Sometimes the best way to handle complexity isn’t to build more complex systems, but to find the simple principles that persist beneath the noise.”
Sebastian Hellman’s career defies easy categorization. He’s a trader who thinks like a mathematician, a businessman who collaborates with Fields medalists, an analyst who believes you can’t understand a market without walking its streets. His success across such disparate fields suggests something important: that the ability to recognize patterns, whether in fund performance at age nine or in probability theory decades later, is transferable.
As markets grow more complex and AI reshapes entire industries, Hellman’s approach, rooted in simplicity, focused on trends, and informed by global perspective offers a counterintuitive lesson. Sometimes the best way to handle complexity isn’t to build more complex systems, but to find the simple principles that persist beneath the noise.
For more on Sebastian Hellman’s work and to watch his live trading sessions, visit his YouTube channel “Returns by HELLMAN” or learn more about Abelian Investors at their website.
Global Entrepreneurs Review | January 2026
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