as the question, im got a degree in finance and been an analyst for 1.5 years, i have built a bit of capital and want to changing my strategy to active managing through macro trading, where do i start when doing macro researches and how different is it from equity valuation and research.? thanks in advance
where do i start to trading macro?
byu/badboyhalo1801 inoptions
Posted by badboyhalo1801
1 Comment
Right so you’ve got the finance background which is solid groundwork, but macro trading is a completely different beast from equity analysis. Instead of diving deep into individual companies, you’re looking at massive economic trends, central bank policies, currency flows, commodity cycles – basically trying to predict how entire economies will move relative to each other.
I’d start with understanding how different asset classes correlate during various economic cycles. Like how bond yields move when inflation expectations shift, or how emerging market currencies behave when the dollar strengthens. The research is more top-down rather than bottom-up – you’re reading central bank minutes, tracking employment data, watching geopolitical developments rather than poring over company financials.
The timeframes are usually longer too, though you can still swing trade around the bigger themes. Risk management becomes even more crucial since you’re dealing with leveraged positions on instruments that can gap overnight based on some random comment from a Fed member. Maybe start paper trading some basic currency pairs or interest rate futures while you build up your macro knowledge base.