Morgan Stanley's Asia macro team actually lost far more people than we thought

6 July 2026

4 minute read

When we said last month that Morgan Stanley's macro trading team had lost at least 16 people in Singapore, it turns out that we were wrong. Morgan Stanley's macro trading team has lost far more people than that.

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Sources at the bank say that nearly 40 people have departed since the start of 2025. Some are very senior. Around 15 have left already this year.

The exits are understood to include the people listed below. There are others, who we have not verified (yet).

Why have so many people departed? Morgan Stanley isn't commenting. It's conceivable that the exits are just business as usual given that they cover an 18 month period and multiple locations (Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo) and that hedge funds especially are aggressively hiring. It's also conceivable that some of those listed may have been let go during last year's cuts.

However, there are some complaints, too, about preferential promotions, poor pay and other issues that encouraged the exits. Some of those who left were allegedly bid back unsuccessfully. This is not confirmed. Either way, it seems that Morgan Stanley might need to hire some new Asian macro salespeople in particular, soon.

Amanda Yin, in Chinese solution sales

Anders Wong, a junior rates trader who went to Goldman last September

Angus Nicholson, a VP strategist, now at Balyasny.

Arthur Baker, head of fixed income macro distribution for Asia, who left last September.

Chris Lai, a macro salesman who joined from Goldman in 2021.

Clarinda Ong, an executive director in fixed income sales who left in June and is now at Clifford Capital.

David Hok, a Singapore-based macro rates salesman who left in March and is now at Barclays.

David Massey, a Hong Kong-based macro salesman who left in 2026 after joining from Standard Chartered in 2022. Going to Barclays.

Franck Wang, an executive director who'd been at Morgan Stanley for 16 years. Left in 2026.

Garrett Teo, an institutional salesman who's thought to be enroute to Citi. Left in 2026.

Ivan Lai, a macro rates trader who left for Dymon in June.

Jason Chua, a Hong Kong based rates trader who went to BMO in November 2025.

Jean Bae, a Hong Kong based VP who left for Pimco last June.

John Bright, ex-head of institutional G10 rates sales, who left and founded 3B investment partners last December.

Kin Hoe Yau, an FX and rates trader in Hong Kong, who left for Barclays in October last year.

Peter Choi, the Singapore based head of Asia and Australia non-linear ratest trading, who left for Modular Asset Management in May.

Pavan Agrawal, a rates trader who left in May.

Rikhil Aggrarwal, a rates trader who left for Welwing Capital last September.

Sahil Aggarwal, a rates trading MD who left recently and is possibly joining a hedge fund.

Siok Hong Gan, co-head of Asian sales, joined BlackRock in July 2026.

Synix Sun, fixed income structuring, joined Credit Agricole in May 2026.

Tammy Lin, FX sales, joined BNP last June.

Timothy Wong, VP in macro sales, resigned recently for BMO.

Vivian Li, head of Asia credit analytics, joined Jefferies in May 2025.

Ying Chiat Ho, executive director in rates trading, joined ANZ in June 2025.

Young Min Cho, EM and FX rates trader. Left for JPMorgan last year.

Yupeng Jiang, a quant trader who joined Qube last year.

Zane Yang, a macro sales VP who joined Deutsche Bank in May.

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AUTHORSarah Butcher

Global Editor

Mr
Mr HelloKitty
6 July 2026
It's good to see this page dig deeper post the last article that many commented on. As this article says, some of the attrition is natural - all banks have people coming and going. But the rate at MS has been insane. Look at the MDs in the bank - few of them have been there long. Contrast this to other banks, such as their frenemies in Goldman, where there are many "lifers" in the senior ranks. The fact is that MS has a leadership and continuity problem in the Fixed Income division - not just in Asia, although it's particularly bad there. If you go work at MS, prepare yourself to be judged extremely quickly, and if management doesn't immediately like you, better find a new job before your bonus is zeroed out, like it happened to many of the people on this list.
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