About
Alpine Macro
Alpine Macro was founded in October 2017 as an independent global investment research firm based in Montreal, Canada.
Our partners have worked together for decades. They had an opportunity to come together again to bring clarity, understanding, and insight to investors in today’s complex and unique investment environment. Alpine’s Macro’s mission is to make our clients money while saving them from reading the massive volume of mediocre “research” that generates more time consuming “noise” than value added “signal”.
Our Methodology
“Follow the Money” has been an age old prescription for understanding what’s likely to happen in markets. Our methodology is based on the simple truth that changes in money, credit and liquidity drive changes in markets. Central banks play a critical role in this process through interest rate and balance sheet changes. Our senior team has five former central bankers who have a lifetime of experience understanding and anticipating what the Fed and other key central banks will do before the market figures it out.
While our methodology of assessing changes in liquidity is simple in concept, the application is complex on account of many factors. For that reason, the approacha is part art, part science and must always be eclectic, practical and based on experience. That is where Alpine’s team comes into play.
A good example is the experience of 2020. In the first quarter of the year the Covid-19 virus rapid spread caused panic in financial markets. At Alpine, our experience and knowledge of monetary and fiscal policy led us early on to warn clients that the massive increase in liquidity would cause a V shaped recovery in both the stock market and the economy.
Another example came from our central banking experience. We understood that a major consequence of the Fed’s new policy of moving to average inflation targeting, gave a green light to speculators and that this would create a mania in asset prices. Our strategists have a lengthy history, going back to the 1990s of studying financial manias, credit supercycles and how they turn eventually to panics and crashes.
Our Team
What makes Alpine Macro a unique and compelling proposition for institutional clients is the team of strategists. Over many years, they developed and refined a methodology and practical applications that sophisticated institutional investors around the world have come to rely on for investment strategy and allocation of assets across all financial markets. Chen Zhao, Tony Boeckh, David Abramson, Yan Wang, Harvinder Kalirai and Mark McClellan have many decades of experience, much of it working together, analyzing the global economy, financial system and investment markets. They are supported by an experienced team of research analysts with expertise in all major asset classes and regional markets.
The team has a combination of sound academic training, policy and practical experience in understanding what drives markets, inflation, currencies and how policy makers will react to market and economic developments. The financial system has become truly global and Alpine’s strategists are global in background, training and experience.
For example, China has become the dominant force for global growth, affecting inflation, commodities, currencies, interest rates and stock markets. ALPINE has arguably the best China team anywhere to keep clients attuned to what is happening in this important country and on the leading edge of unfolding market developments.
Chen Zhao is the Chief Global Strategist of Alpine Macro. From 2015 to 2016, he was Co-Director of Macro Research at Brandywine Global Investment Management. Prior to Brandywine Global, Chen spent 23 years at BCA Research as Partner, Managing Editor and Chief Global Strategist, Chen developed and wrote BCA’s China and Emerging Markets publications in the 1990s. Chen became the firm’s Chief Global Strategist in the 2000s and was the author of BCA’s flagship publication, Global Investment Strategy from 2005 to 2015. He holds an MA in economics from the Central University of Finance and Economics, was a visiting scholar at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and pursued post graduate studies with a PhD candidacy at McGill University.
- Chen Zhao
Tony Boeckh is the Executive Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Alpine Macro. Tony was previously Chairman, Chief Executive and Editor-in-Chief of Montreal-based BCA Research for 34 years. He was the publisher of among others, the Bank Credit Analyst, a monthly big-picture analysis of the U.S. economy and financial markets. Tony has a PhD in Finance and Economics from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a B. Com. from the University of Toronto. He is a founding trustee of the Fraser Institute in Vancouver, British Columbia (an economic “think tank” dedicated to free market principles) and author of several books, including The Great Reflation (Wiley 2010), the best seller on Amazon, and The Stock Market and Inflation (Dow Jones-Irwin 1982).
- J. Anthony Boeckh
David Abramson is the Chief U.S. Strategist & Director of Research with Alpine Macro. For 28 years, David was a Macro Strategist holding a variety of senior roles at BCA Research. Most recently, he was Chief U.S. Strategist and also Director of Research for the firm. During his tenure at BCA Research, David launched and managed the European Strategy and Commodity & Energy Strategy services. In addition, he was the Managing Editor for the Foreign Exchange Strategy and the China Investment Strategy services. He has taught international finance to MBAs at McGill University for 20 years, and is on the Client Committee of the Kenneth Woods Portfolio Management Program at Concordia University.
- David Abramson
Bassam Nawfal is the Chief Asset Allocation Strategist. Prior to joining Alpine Macro, Bassam spent 6 years at PSP Investments, a large Montreal-based pension fund, where he played a key role in launching and managing a dynamic currency and asset allocation strategy. Previously, he had started his career at BCA Research, where he spent 8 years serving in various roles, including as a senior FX strategist. Bassam holds a BComm in finance from Concordia University, as well as the CFA designation.
- Bassam Nawfal
Yan Wang is the Chief Emerging Markets & China Strategist. Prior to Alpine Macro, Yan spent 15 years at BCA Research, as the Managing Editor and Chief Strategist for BCA’s China Investment Strategy service, and played a major role in formulating BCA’s view on the Greater China region and emerging Asia. Prior to joining BCA, he spent six years as an equity analyst in China and Hong Kong. Yan holds an MBA in Finance from McGill University, an M.A. in Economics from Tianjin Institute of Finance and a B.A. in Finance from Nankai University. He also holds the CFA designation.
- Yan Wang
Harvinder Kalirai is the Chief Global Fixed Income & Currency Strategist. Before joining Alpine Macro, Harvinder spent a decade with BCA Research, where he headed the firm’s Foreign Exchange Strategy service from 2008 to 2016 and Daily Insights from 2016 to 2018. Prior to BCA, Harvinder was Head of Currency Management at CIBC Global Asset Management. Previously, he held various positions at State Street Global Markets, including Senior Macro Strategist (London), Head of Currency Research, Asia-Pacific (Sydney), and Senior FX Strategist (Boston). Harvinder began his career at the Bank of Canada in 1995 with an MA (Economics) and a BCom (Finance) from McGill University. He also holds the CFA designation.
- Harvinder Kalirai
Mark McClellan is Alpine Macro’s Chief U.S. Bond Strategist. Prior to joining Alpine Macro, Mark was a Senior VP and held numerous key positions during his 23-year career at BCA Research, including Chief Global Fixed Income Strategist. He was instrumental in developing and directing several fixed income publications, including the BCA Global Fixed Income Strategy and the U.S. Bond Strategy services. Mark also covered U.S. asset allocation when he headed the U.S. Investment Strategy service, as well as BCA’s centerpiece publication, the monthly Bank Credit Analyst. Mark began his career as an economist and macro forecaster at the Bank of Canada, and holds a M.A. (Economics) from Western University and a B.A. (Economics) from McMaster University.
- Mark McClellan
Prior to joining Alpine Macro, Dan spent eight years with UBS, as an Executive Director, responsible for country sovereign risk analysis for the Americas. Prior to UBS, Dan was a Director at Eurasia Group in various roles, including in global comparative analysis, and ran product development. He has also worked at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, and at Deloitte Consulting. Dan pursued postgraduate studies in International Relations at the London School of Economics, holds a master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, and a BSFS from Georgetown University.
- Dan Alamariu
Nick was Senior Equity Strategist at J.P. Morgan, formerly First Republic, where he led equity strategy while acting on the firm’s Asset Allocation Committee. In addition, he served on the investment team managing a suite of JPMAM equity strategies. Previously, Nick was a Director and Investment Strategist within the Chief Investment Office at Bank of America. He began his career at Citi Smith Barney, in New York. Nick earned a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado and an MBA from Georgetown University. He holds the CFA designation.
- Nick Giorgi
Prior to recently joining Alpine Macro, Noah Ramos spent five years at 13D Research & Strategy. There, Noah played a central role in developing 13D’s disruption and innovation research, where he contributed weekly to 13D’s flagship publication What I Learned This Week. Noah closely tracks automation, space, defense, IoT, infrastructure, and commodities. Specifically, he focuses on how innovation and disruptive technologies shape the future and impact financial markets. Noah holds a BS in Entrepreneurship with a concentration in Finance from Babson College, where he graduated with cum laude honors.
- Noah Ramos
Prior to joining Alpine Macro, Kelly spent nearly 15 years at BCA Research, where she most recently served as Associate Editor. In that role, she specialized in thematic research across a wide range of areas, including commodities. Kelly holds a Master’s degree in Economics from McGill University, as well as the CFA designation.
- Kelly Xu
Henry Wu has been an integral member of Alpine Macro since its inception in 2017. He develops and publishes research on quantitative strategies across asset classes, with expertise in asset allocation modeling for equities, bonds, and multi-asset portfolios in both U.S. and global markets. His work focuses on U.S. macro and equity research, and he also conducts the Alpine Macro Investment Survey. Before joining Alpine Macro, Henry spent two years at BCA on the emerging markets team. He holds a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and is a CFA charter holder.
