Brandywine Global Names Chen Zhao as Co-Director of Global Macro Research

Brandywine Global today announced that Chen Zhao will join the firm as the Co-Director of Global Macro Research as of January 1, 2015, and will serve alongside his former colleague, Francis Scotland. Messrs. Chen and Scotland will work together to develop the firm’s proprietary macro research.
Scotland said of reuniting with his former colleague, “Chen is a rock star in the global macro space, well known for his sometimes provocative, but always practical and bottom line, views on the economy and markets. He is really going to both solidify and enhance the contribution of our macro research effort to the firm’s investment process.”
Co-Lead Portfolio Manager, David Hoffman, said of Chen, “We are thrilled Chen Zhao will join Francis Scotland on our Global Macro Research team. He is one of the best minds in the business and someone our senior team has known for close to 20 years. As macro-driven investors, Chen will be a huge addition to both our traditional Global Fixed Income strategies, as well as to our Global Macro strategy in the alternatives space. He is brilliant and opinionated, which will contribute to the dialectic necessary to analyze the ever-changing macro landscape.”
Steve Smith, another Co-Lead Portfolio Manager, also expressed enthusiasm over Chen’s arrival by stating, “We are excited to incorporate Chen’s experience and insights into our investment process. Over the past two decades, I’ve had fascinating conversations with Chen, all of which have affirmed to me that he will be a natural fit on our team, given his like-minded philosophy for generating uncommon performance in global bond and currency investing. His contributions will further cement our team’s ability to seek mean-reversion opportunities for our clients. I have no doubt Chen will hit the ground running by generating new ideas, as well as challenging our worldviews.”
Chen was a Chief Global Strategist at BCA Research Group, one of the world’s leading independent research and investment strategy firms. With BCA, Chen was responsible for leading the firm’s global investment strategy and was also responsible for launching the China Investment and Emerging Markets strategies during his tenure. Prior to BCA, he was a professor at Beijing’s Central University of Finance and Economics and also served as a Senior Advisor to several government organizations in the People’s Republic of China. Chen holds an M.A. in Economics from the Central Institute of Finance and Banking in Beijing and pursued postgraduate studies at McGill University.