24 questions reported in Brevan Howard interviews, organised by the group that asks them. Every question carries a model answer and graded feedback on your own attempt.
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Policy reaction functions, positioning, carry and expressing a view cleanly. 16 questions
Macro desks ask this because the same data print can mean different things under different central banks.
What is a central bank reaction function and why is it more important than one data print?
A first-round macro question testing whether you can read a common growth release without overclaiming from it.
What does a purchasing managers' index, or PMI, measure? A manufacturing PMI falls from 54 to 51 and then to 49. What has changed, and what has not necessarily changed?
A first-round macro question because almost every asset class trades off real rates.
Explain the difference between nominal rates and real rates. Why do macro investors care more about real rates?
Common in FX macro interviews because it explains why the dollar can rally in opposite regimes.
What is the dollar smile and why is it useful?
A rates expression question for macro seats.
Explain the difference between a bull steepener and a bear steepener. What macro environments produce each?
An event-driven macro interview scenario testing whether you trade the change in expectations rather than recite the data level.
Core CPI prints 0.3% month-on-month versus 0.2% consensus. The year-on-year rate still falls from 3.2% to 3.0%, and two-year Treasury yields jump 12bp. Explain the market reaction and what you would…
A sovereign rates and FX question for macro funds.
What is fiscal dominance and how would it show up in markets?
The recurring event macro desks trade around.
A central bank holds rates unchanged, exactly as expected, and the currency rallies 1.5%. Explain how that happens.
A trade-expression question around growth, inflation and central-bank expectations.
The market is debating a soft landing. What does that mean, and how would you express a view that it is underpriced?
Useful for commodity currencies and EM macro interviews.
A commodity-importing country faces a sudden oil price spike. Walk through the macro and market effects.
A common FX macro question because carry trades often look stable until they break.
Why can an FX carry trade earn steady returns for months and then lose a year of gains in days?
Macro funds test whether you think about the trade's cost and crowding, not just its thesis.
You have a correct macro view but the trade loses money for six months. Name the mechanisms that can cause that, and how you'd guard against them.
Global macro interviews test expression as much as the view itself.
You believe a central bank will cut rates sooner than the market expects. Give me three ways to express that and tell me which you'd choose.
A global-macro analyst replay around a central-bank decision, revised forecasts and positioning.
You are covering a central-bank decision for a global macro portfolio manager. Update the trade as the statement, press conference and cross-market reaction arrive.
A risk-management question for event-driven macro trading.
You have a strong view that a central bank meeting will surprise dovishly, but the outcome is binary. Why might options be better than futures?
A senior-style macro judgement question on whether an apparently cheap currency is an opportunity or a policy-credibility trap.
An emerging-market currency is down 25%, screens cheap on real effective exchange rate, and offers a 15% policy rate. The government has pressured the central bank, imposed limits on converting local…
Duration, curve trades, auctions, basis and central bank reaction. 5 questions
Macro reasoning question for rates desks and macro funds.
The central bank raises rates by 100bps. Walk me through the transmission channels to the real economy and the likely reaction across asset classes.
Essential for rates and macro roles.
Explain the relationship between nominal rates, real rates and inflation expectations. What is a breakeven inflation rate, and how would you trade a view that inflation will be higher than the market…
A realistic junior-trader scenario testing whether a candidate can convert a macro print into a risk-defined rates view.
Headline and core CPI both print 0.2 percentage points above consensus. Two-year Treasury yields jump 12bp in seconds, while ten-year yields rise only 4bp. You think the market has overreacted. What…
Rates desks test whether you can express a view without taking directional risk.
Explain a steepener, a flattener and a butterfly. Why would a trader use these rather than an outright long or short?
Macro and FX desk interviews use this to probe understanding of risk premia.
Explain the FX carry trade. Why does it work despite theory suggesting it shouldn't, and what is its risk profile?
Carry, curve shape, storage economics and policy sensitivity. 3 questions
The foundational calculation on any FX desk.
EUR/USD spot is 1.0800. US rates are 4%, euro rates 2%, both for one year. What is the one-year forward, and why can't it be anything else?
Macro and FX interviews use carry unwinds to test whether you can describe risk, not just a yield differential.
You are long a high-yielding emerging-market currency funded in Japanese yen. The central bank unexpectedly signals tighter Japanese policy and global equities fall sharply. What happens to the trade,…
EM FX desks and macro funds test the mechanism, not just the history.
What conditions precede an emerging market currency crisis, and what does the central bank actually do about it?
Write your answer, get it graded on technical accuracy, completeness and communication, and see exactly which mechanic you missed.
Company tags reflect where a question type is commonly reported in interviews. They are not sourced from, endorsed by, or affiliated with Brevan Howard.