Julian Brigden

Julian Brigden is the Head of Research at Macro Intelligence 2 Partners, a firm he co-founded in 2011. He leads a six-person team of research and trading professionals to publish independent macroeconomic and markets research that is both ahead of consensus and timely. Julian has over 30 years of experience in financial markets including positions in market and policy focused consulting to institutional investors as well as FICC sales. 

Julian is a trusted advisor to many top money managers who use MI2 Partners’ research to guide and inform their investment process. He has extensive experience with macro data analysis, rates, equity indices and currencies. He is particularly skilled at exploring correlations in the economy and financial markets vital to a vast array of investment decision-makers. As a global macro strategist, Julian’s primary focus is understanding and explaining macroeconomic and policy-related developments to tell clients what is important in markets and what to fade.

In terms of the market outlook for 2024, Julian argues that the US is in ruddy economic health and should continue to hum along, barring an equity crash that induces C-suites to reduce headcounts and investment to protect margins. The current vibrancy, together with ongoing fiscal infusions, leads Julian to expect inflation will surprise to the upside, making life uncomfortable for the bond bulls and Fed officials, which leaves the front-end looking vulnerable given expectations of rate cuts priced.

With regards to market shifts and the issues he feels are not addressed in the media, Julian has long argued that we are entering a period of extended financial and economic volatility. The closest analogy is the late 1960s, when we saw steadily increasing economic and market swings, accompanied by extreme political instability. As foreign interest in Treasuries has waned, he believes that the current US account deficit has been funded (at the margin) via purchases of equities. If US equities do correct, it will put considerable pressure on the dollar. 

Julian spent five years at Medley Global Advisors from 1999 to 2004, a leading macro policy intelligence firm, as the Managing Director of the G7 Client Team, providing timely trading recommendations. From 2004 to 2011, he served as North American Head of Hedge Fund Sales at Crédit Agricole. He has worked in London, Zurich, New York and Vail at UBS, Lehman Brothers, HSBC, Drexel, Credit Suisse, and Salomon Brother in foreign exchange and precious metals.

Throughout his career, he has been featured on many major media outlets such as Bloomberg, CNBC, Fox News Business, Real Vision, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Barron’s.  Discussing macro research topics that are driving prices in global bonds, equities, commodities, and currencies.

Updated February 2024