Wall Street’s Macro Traders Eye Biggest Haul in 16 Years

Core Insights - Wall Street's macro traders are on track for their best year since 2009, driven by client interest in changing global interest rate policies [1] - Major firms like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Citigroup are projected to generate $165 billion in revenue from trading activities, marking a 10% increase from 2024 [1][2] Revenue Projections - The Group-of-10 rates business is expected to achieve a five-year high in revenue, reaching $40 billion [2] - The overall industry revenue is anticipated to be $162 billion in 2026, only 2% lower than the projected revenue for this year [2] Market Conditions - Central banks are normalizing policy rates and balance sheets, but the level of issuance remains high, suggesting sustained trading activity [3] - Emerging-market macro traders are expected to earn $35 billion, while credit traders are projected to make $27 billion and commodities traders $11 billion [4] Compensation Trends - The compensation pool for fixed income, currencies, and commodities (FICC) is expected to rise by about 3% on average, with rates traders seeing a 7% increase [5] - Stock traders are set to receive a 14% higher payout compared to last year, attributed to strong performance in AI stocks [5]