54. Global Macro Trading 101 Feat. Wall Street's First Blind Trader

Mar 30, 2024

A blind global macro trader, Ashish Goyal, shares his journey managing portfolios at prestigious hedge funds like Citadel and Bluecrest. Overcoming adversity, he discusses transitioning to family offices, essential skills in macro trading, and insights into senior portfolio management. His story exemplifies resilience and determination in the financial industry.

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ANECDOTE

From Tennis Dream To Wall Street Trailblazer

Ashish became the first visually impaired Wharton graduate and first blind trader on Wall Street after starting trading in India and then attending Wharton.
He convinced JP Morgan to hire him via persistent networking and by asking Bill Winters for help, which led to prop trading work in 2008.

ANECDOTE

Bloomberg Built Accessibility Piece By Piece

Bloomberg adapted accessibility over time to support Ashish, starting with live Excel feeds and IB chats and later expanding accessibility across their platform.
He credits persistent collaboration with Bloomberg for making roughly 25–30% of Bloomberg accessible now.

INSIGHT

Macro Trading Is Trading Countries

Macro trading is effectively trading countries by analysing growth, inflation, employment, fiscal and external balances to judge currencies, rates, and index valuation.
Ashish focuses on G7 and emerging Asia, building medium-to-long term views then picking instruments to express them.

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Ever wondered what global macro trading looks like at the world's most elite hedge funds like Citadel, Balyasny, and Bluecrest? You might imagine you'd need a tremendous grasp of the markets, an ability to analyze and interpret massive amounts of data & research, and a talent for identifying the optimal vehicles for expressing your views. Now imagine doing all of this...without being able to SEE.

We are joined an incredibly special guest for our one-year podcast anniversary: global macro investor Ashish Goyal. Over the past 15 years, Ashish has managed portfolios for marquee hedge funds and institutions such as Citadel, BlueCrest, Balyasny, and J.P. Morgan CIO.

Ashish has the dual distinctions of not only being the world’s first visually impaired graduate of The Wharton School, but also the world’s first visually impaired investor-trader on Wall Street. More importantly, Ashish has been honored with India’s highest civilian award for a disabled individual – the National Award for the empowerment of persons with disability by the President of India and has also been recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Ashish also serves on the Board of The Inclusion Initiative at the London School of Economics (LSE) in the UK and the Rising Flame in India. In the past, he has served on the Board of the Peek Vision Foundation in the UK, has passionately supported Theatre and Arts, and has represented the winning team in the UK domestic blind cricket tournament at the London Metro Club.

Ashish embodies an overflowing spirit of a holistic and balanced life. A practitioner of meditation and a believer in human ingenuity, Ashish continues to support passionate and dedicated charities addressing education, disabilities, human rights, sports, environment, and the Vedic Sciences. He has served as a motivational speaker at various venues – at the London Stock Exchange, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and at the Sohn Charity Conference to name a few.

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