I have seen a lot of discussions on this forum regarding the "typical" career path to global macro; however, I have not seen much discussion on what is a typical day like as a global macro hedge fund analyst. Any inputs to fill the gap here? As a broader question, what are the differences among the day-to-day work as analysts in hedge funds of different strategies -- L/S, value investing, quantitative trading, global macro, etc?
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Bondarb had one posted somewhere from the vantage point of a PM.
...i have a few posts similar but the term "analyst" is a nebulous one in the global macro world...analysts do all sorts of different things, everything from forecasting and analyzing economic data, to doing ad hoc research projects for PMs, to more quant stuff. I dont think there is a typical analyst so I dont know that there is a typical day for an analyst.
I agree, I doubt there is a typical day for a global macro analyst. It can very from economic policy to commodities and the job description can be very different.
I'd agree with Bondarb. I'm an analyst at a macro fund (I focus on materials/energy), but I cover the sectors globally. I tend to focus on themes, so news flow is very important…I start my day at 4.30am and finish just before midnight (not all at the office, thankfully!). I work on some models, read analyst notes/newspapers/blogs, talk to analysts/companies, look at charts, and have various internal meetings. Not to sound cliche, but very rarely do I have the same schedule from one day to the next…but one thing is common…lots and lots and lots of reading.
I may be thoroughly mistaken, but I've noticed that research oriented analysts at macro funds who are fairly early in their careers (arbitrarily
Good point. For me, with a focus on materials and energy (and nearly 7yrs of experience) and a macro perspective, I think these sectors are amongst the "most macro" due to the global nature of supply/demand, global pricing for the commodities, etc. I can express a view through single equities long/short, baskets of equities, commodities, or FX…but the lens I view the world through tends to be through natural resources and political risk. Sure, I may miss something that is more credit or banking related, but that's why I'm part of a team. I also have no interest in looking at banks, ha. Sure, I could take a much broader macro view, but with a background in resources and an understanding in the supply/demand, I often see trades or longer-term investments that a broad macro generalist would likely miss.
That makes sense, thanks for clarifying and on a somewhat tangential note, I'm confident that energy based macro bets will return to vogue in '14 as the 'dutch disease' thwarts both DM and EM commodity export nations to varying degrees, and I may likely opt to express my bets via a basket of FX trades (added benefit of also expressing monetary policy divergence and valuation convergence views simultaneously) while being fully aware that it probably isn't the path of least resistance, so I effectively need to work on my domain knowledge.
Thanks for your thoughts...
I think 2014 should be the first year of several to finally show some proper differentiation in EM - and even in FX. There's no reason BRL should strengthen...aside from saturated consumer credit and elevated inflation, exports look rough...iron ore will be flat at best (with prices likely lower YoY) and same for ags/grains. AUD should have a better year, but I think CAD looks good...MXN as well. Both have top-down drivers (NAFTA picking up, energy production), as well as bottom-up (Canadian unemployment has been very good...Mexican reforms are progressing well...etc). Long NAFTA FX vs JPY, TRY, BRL, ZAR should be a good pair group. I think USD might be stronger...and a good way to play that in light of a broader recovery is long platinum/palladium vs short gold/silver.
As for broader commodity prices, I think precious are down, PGMs are up, ags are down, softs mixed (palm down, cocoa up, cotton down), bases mostly up (copper up, zinc up, nickel up, ali and lead flattish), oil flat, US nat gas up slightly.
Resource equities should also see more differentiation...in mining, some invested in the downturn, while others are focused on dividends (ridiculous...five yrs late for this...). In energy, I think 2014 will be all about opening up new basins and proving them up...as well as big spreads between those with sustainable models (capex funded organically, RRR above 100%, etc) vs those who aren't sustainable. M&A should hopefully be a bit of a theme towards the end of the year too.
Analyst role at Global Macro hedge funds? (Originally Posted: 03/03/2010)
So to the best of my understanding there's three "types" of hedge funds: ones that rely on fundamental analysis (L/S, market neutral, distressed, etc), ones that rely on Quant strategies, and ones that rely on top-down investing (Global Macro). If I'm missing anything please correct me.
I am most interested in pursuing an Analyst position at a Global Macro fund. I get their strategy, but can someone give me an idea for what an Analyst at a Global Macro fund would actually do on a day-to-day basis? How is their role different than at the other types of hedge funds?
Also, are analyst positions more scarce for Global Macro funds?
Thanks!
and everything in between right? imo when it comes to global macro I think they, more than other types of elite funds, tend to rely on internal recommendations. *i'm not in the industry but that's what I was told.
BUMP
could anyone give some insight into the type of work analysts do at global macro funds?
The work is a combination of macro level analysis (sovereign debt / credit spreads, currencies, etc etc) and company level work that a normal long/short equity analyst would do.
The analysts would be more focused on the company level work while the PMs and CIO would do most of the macro level analysis / figuring out themes to invest based on.
Hope that helps.
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