Trading Global Macro Markets - Hardcover

by Dirk Willer (Author), Alex Saunders (Author)

'At a time when global macro has rarely been more relevant, this book captures what drives macro trading: the interaction of policy, markets, and human behavior. It combines analytical depth with real world insight, making it essential reading for traders, investors and anyone with an interest in global markets.'

Andrew Morton, Global Head of Markets, Citi

'History remains our most reliable guide to markets. Dirk and Alex examine the most durable macro relationships with empirical rigor--a must-read for any macro investor.'

Paul Tudor Jones II, CIO and Founder, Tudor Investment Corp

'Even seasoned professionals will find this book valuable. A rigorous, well researched work from one of the industry's thought leaders. An excellent and practical contribution, firmly grounded in data.'

Ben Melkman, Managing Deputy CIO at Bridgewater Associates

Discover opportunities in macro trading as global market volatility increases

In Trading Global Macro Markets, accomplished global macro veterans Dirk Willer and Alex Saunders deliver a complete and incisive guide to navigating global macroeconomic trends as the low volatility world of quantitative easing gives way to the post-pandemic world of increased interest rates and macro volatility. The authors offer coverage of every major asset class, from government debt and credit to equity, commodity, and foreign exchange markets, along with back-tested frameworks going back over two decades and more that illustrate how to trade each class and how to make cross-asset trading decisions.

This fully validated roadmap to global macro trading is a thoroughly researched handbook filled with use-cases, charts, examples, and tools. It avoids overly complex mathematics in favor of concise explanations and case studies wherever possible, ensuring it remains accessible to practitioners and traders from a wide variety of backgrounds.

You'll also find:

• Strategies for trading the business cycle and macroeconomic events, like economic data releases, monetary policy meetings, elections, and geopolitical flashpoints
• Techniques for tactical asset allocation
• Ways to choose between asset classes and discussions of trades that illustrate the concepts explored in the book

Ideal for global macro buy-side and sell-side professionals, asset allocators, market researchers, academics, regulators, and policymakers, Trading Global Macro Markets will prove invaluable to all finance practitioners interested in the interplay between macroeconomics and the markets.

Front Jacket

In Trading Global Macro Markets, global macro veterans Dirk Willer and Alex Saunders deliver a comprehensive and insightful discussion of every major asset class--including government debt, credit, top-down equity markets, foreign exchange markets, and commodities--around the world. They cover frameworks back-tested over more than 20 years, illustrating not only how to best trade each individual asset class, but how to best choose between those asset classes and how to utilize cross-asset class trading strategies.

The authors includes practical case studies and descriptions of actual trades throughout the book to better illustrate the concepts discussed within. They explain how to trade the business cycle and how to trade the most common macro events, like data releases, OPEC meetings, wars, and more. Willer and Saunders also write about tactical asset allocation, showing how to navigate a post-quantitative easing world in which volatility and higher interest rates create opportunities in global rates trading.

Trading Global Macro Markets is a fully validated guide on how to trade every relevant part of the global macro markets. It's a thorough--and thoroughly researched--roadmap filled with charts, case studies, examples, and tools that avoid complex mathematics and formulas wherever possible to remain highly accessible to readers from a wide variety of backgrounds.

Perfect for global buy and sell-side professionals, market and academic researchers, regulators, and policymakers, this book will earn a prominent place in the libraries of any finance practitioner and trader with an interest in the interplay between macroeconomics and successful portfolio management. It's bound to become a popular favorite as synchronized monetary policy and low interest rates give way to more frequent economic upheavals and increased global volatility.

Back Jacket

Praise for TRADING GLOBAL MACRO MARKETS

'At a time when global macro has rarely been more relevant, this book captures what drives macro trading: the interaction of policy, markets, and human behavior. It combines analytical depth with real world insight, making it essential reading for traders, investors and anyone with an interest in global markets.'
Andrew Morton, Global Head of Markets, Citi

'History remains our most reliable guide to markets. Dirk and Alex examine the most durable macro relationships with empirical rigor--a must-read for any macro investor.'
Paul Tudor Jones II, CIO and Founder, Tudor Investment Corp

'Even seasoned professionals will find this book valuable. A rigorous, well researched work from one of the industry's thought leaders. An excellent and practical contribution, firmly grounded in data.'
Ben Melkman, Managing Deputy CIO at Bridgewater Associates

'Like his earlier EM bible, this is serious, insightful and above all disciplined. Damned good.'
Al Breach, CIO Gemsstock

'Trading Global Macro Markets by Dirk Willer and Alex Saunders distills decades of Citi's global macro expertise into empirically validated, rules-based frameworks for asset allocation and trading. Written by practitioners for practitioners, it bridges rigorous analysis of economic indicators with practical decision-making, revealing what has worked across cycles and asset classes. This indispensable guide empowers macro investors--both discretionary and systematic--with disciplined, evidence-based conviction in global markets.'
Marcos L?pez de Prado OMC PhD, Global Head of Quantitative R&D, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)

'What a great book for all who want to learn about global macro trading, including practitioners, policymakers, and academics. Trading strategies, pitfalls, and quantitative approaches are covered comprehensively, in a reference that is sure to last.'
Tobias Adrian, Financial Counsellor to the Managing Director, Director of Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF

Author Biography

DIRK WILLER is a Managing Director and Global Head of Macro and Asset Allocation at Citi Research in New York. Dirk covers global macro markets across all asset classes and geographies, leading teams in Europe and the US. In this role he regularly consults with many of the world's largest institutional investors, corporates as well as policymakers. Prior to this role, Dirk headed global Emerging Market Strategy, where he and his teams were consistently ranked in the top three in the institutional investor surveys. Dirk is frequently quoted in the financial press and interviewed on TV and podcasts, including Macro Hive and Odd Lots, and speaks on various industry panels. Previously, Dirk worked at Omega Advisors and RHG Capital as a global macro strategist and portfolio manager and at Swiss Bank as a fixed income strategist for Russia and Eastern Europe. Prior to his work on buy and sell-side Dirk was consulting the Russian government under Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais during the successful stabilization period in 1994/1995. Dirk holds a PhD and MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics, following his undergraduate work at the University of St.Gallen in Switzerland. Dirk is also the author of an influential book on how to trade emerging market fixed income, published by Wiley in 2020. Dirk is a member of Atlantik-Bruecke and the Economics Club of New York. He resides in NYC with his wife and four daughters.

ALEX SAUNDERS is Head of Quantitative Macro Research at Citi. Prior to joining Citi in 2021, he accumulated over twenty years of practitioner--focused experience spanning buy-side portfolio management and macro research across multiple market cycles. His work integrates quantitative analysis with real-world market dynamics across global asset classes. Alex holds undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in economics, and his work has appeared on television, in news media, and in academic journals.