Fixed Income and Currency Strategist

Gautam Jain, PhD, CFA

Gautam Jain has over 25 years of experience covering global emerging fixed income and currency markets, both as a strategist and a portfolio manager. He has worked in buy-side and sell-side firms, including The Rohatyn Group (TRG Management), Barclays Capital, and Millennium Partners. He has helped manage emerging markets local-currency and hard-currency debt funds. The assets that he covers include currencies, interest rates, sovereign credits, and related derivatives. He specializes in portfolio construction, smart-beta index creation, and asset allocation. Mr. Jain holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Columbia University and is a CFA charter holder.

FX Dashboard: Spillover Risk from China to EM FX

FX Dashboard: Will Asian Currencies Continue to Underperform?

FX Dashboard: Is Korean Won’s Underperformance Overdone?

Rates 10y Dashboard: Where in Asia Is Duration Risk Worthwhile?

Crunch Time for Singapore Dollar and Renminbi

Rates 10y Dashboard: Which EM Rates Are Most Vulnerable to Rising US Rates?

FX Dashboard: Which Currencies Are Most Vulnerable to Dollar Strengthening?

FX & Rates

<p>In this week’s Alpha Bites, we recommend buying the Malaysian ringgit (MYR) against the Chinese renminbi (CNY) in a beta-neutral ratio. PBOC’s surprise RRR cut indicates concerns about the economy losing momentum as evidenced by recent data and should thus prevent strong fixings for the currency. The ringgit, meanwhile, has underperformed due to rising coronavirus cases and political uncertainty. However, the rapid vaccination pace, higher oil prices, and a new fiscal stimulus package should counter the headwinds to growth in Malaysia in our view.</p>

In this week’s Alpha Bites, we recommend buying the Malaysian ringgit (MYR) against the Chinese renminbi (CNY) in a beta-neutral ratio. PBOC’s surprise RRR cut indicates concerns about the economy losing momentum as evidenced by recent data and should thus prevent strong fixings for the currency. The ringgit, meanwhile, has underperformed due to rising coronavirus cases and political uncertainty. However, the rapid vaccination pace, higher oil prices, and a new fiscal stimulus package should counter the headwinds to growth in Malaysia in our view.

Alpha Bites: Long Malaysian Ringgit Vs Short Chinese Renminbi