Macro Analyst Job Description Template

The macro analyst works on the economy rather than individual companies, forming views on rates, currencies, commodities and policy that drive top down positions. The role blends economic analysis with market awareness, since being right about the economy and wrong about the market’s expectations produces losses just as reliably as being wrong about both. Good macro analysts are unusually clear about what is already priced in.

Typical Duties and Responsibilities

• Analyze economic data, policy decisions and their likely market impact
• Build and maintain models of growth, inflation, rates and currency dynamics
• Track central bank communication and infer the reaction function behind it
• Identify where market pricing diverges from a defensible economic view
• Develop trade expressions across rates, foreign exchange and commodities
• Monitor positioning, flows and sentiment data across major markets
• Write macro notes and maintain a calendar of scheduled catalysts
• Assess political and geopolitical risk and its transmission into markets
• Support portfolio managers on hedging and cross asset correlation questions
• Review the accuracy of past calls and refine the framework accordingly

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, finance or a quantitative discipline

Required Skills and Experience

• 3+ years of macro research experience at a fund, bank or policy institution
• Strong grounding in monetary policy, fixed income and currency markets
• Ability to translate an economic view into a specific trade with defined risk
• Comfort with econometrics and time series analysis
• Fluency with Bloomberg, Haver or a comparable macro data platform
• Clear writing under time pressure around data releases
• Understanding of what is already priced into forward markets
• Awareness of cross asset relationships and where they break down

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in economics
• Experience at a central bank or as a sell side economist