JPMorgan Trading Head Troy Rohrbaugh Says ‘Fixed Income Is In’

(Bloomberg) -- Good news for Wall Street’s fixed-income trading shops: “Fixed income is in,” according to Troy Rohrbaugh, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s global head of markets. 

“It’s actually a trade-able, invest-able asset class now and we’re seeing a lot of interest,” Rohrbaugh said Wednesday at a Bank of America Corp. conference. JPMorgan, which boasts Wall Street’s biggest FICC-trading business, is seeing ongoing strength in macro products as well as a pickup in credit, a weak spot last year. 

Rohrbaugh said first-quarter trading results are trending “slightly down” from last year’s $8.8 billion haul, echoing guidance from Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum Tuesday. On the investment-banking side, Rohrbaugh said debt capital markets are faring “better than I would have expected,” and equity underwriting is starting to open up. 

Rohrbaugh predicted the industrywide trading wallet will probably shrink after recent banner years, but “with the direction of the market, much higher rates, much higher levels of volatility, there’s a lot more opportunity.”

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