Trading vs Research for Macro HF

As someone with the end goal of ending up at a macro HF, what is the ideal path nowadays?

Having read previous WSO threads about this topic, I gather that the typical path was prop -> HF but since Volcker this has become less clear and some WSO users have said that research is now better than trading. Has this trend accelerated or is the best route (still) something like rates trading? 

Would really appreciate if someone could shed some light on this!

11 Comments
 

From what I get the market is getting more and more quantitative. Good coding skills and a postgrad degree (al least MA but preferably a PhD) are a must in almost all macro HF "junior" positions.

From that you can get what you want, but it deff looks more on the research side than it was 20 years ago. 

 

Thanks for the response - I imagined the answer would be along those lines. I assume MA (or PhD) in Econ/Stats?

 

So would you say bank rates research is better than bank rates trading for global macro HF trader / PMs? Also, in terms of research/trading desks, what would you say the top 5 are (and also ones the to avoid)?

 

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