Emerging Markets Fixed Income Trader

T. Rowe Price • Baltimore, MD

4d • $120,000 - $205,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Emerging Markets Fixed Income Trader executes sovereign and corporate credit, local currency rates, and foreign exchange transactions for dedicated emerging markets strategies and emerging markets allocations within global and multi-sector portfolios. The trader builds counterparty relationships and contributes market insight to portfolio construction discussions as a member of the investment team. Because liquidity varies across countries and instruments and market access rules differ by jurisdiction, implementation decisions are particularly important.

The role covers trade execution across hard currency sovereign and quasi-sovereign bonds, emerging markets corporate credit, local currency government bonds and bills, foreign exchange, swaps, and credit default swaps. The trader selects execution methods based on order size, liquidity, urgency, and price constraints; manages cross-time-zone market access and settlement considerations; and uses judgment to determine when to work orders, source risk, or advise that a trade is not achievable at acceptable cost.

The trader partners with portfolio managers and research analysts to implement investment views, manages cash and currency positioning, allocates trades across accounts, and addresses settlement and documentation issues. The role also provides market intelligence, maintains dealer relationships, evaluates execution outcomes, and helps develop desk workflows and execution technology, including rules for low-touch and automated trading and assessment of AI-assisted capabilities.

The position is eligible for hybrid work, with up to one day per week from home. Base salary ranges from $120,000 to $205,000, depending on location, experience, and skills. Employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus based on company and individual performance.

Requirements

• At least 3 years of experience in emerging markets fixed income trading, portfolio implementation, or a closely related investment role at an asset manager.
• Demonstrated ability to execute in less liquid and fast-moving markets and make decisions under time and price pressure without escalating routine matters.
• Sound understanding of fixed income, trading mechanics, liquidity formation, market structure, and counterparty risk.
• Routine use of electronic execution platforms and execution analytics in day-to-day trading to improve efficiency in higher-touch flows.
• Undergraduate degree, preferably in finance, economics, mathematics, engineering, or another analytical discipline.

Nice To Haves

• Direct emerging markets experience across hard currency sovereign debt, local rates, emerging markets corporate credit, or emerging markets foreign exchange.
• Familiarity with local market access requirements, including registration and documentation regimes, capital controls, tax treatment, and restricted currency settlement.
• Experience specifying requirements for trading tools, testing them before release, or building analytics used by a trading desk.
• Interest in the mechanics behind market moves, including country, issuer, and market access factors that drive emerging markets pricing.
• Collaborative working style, willingness to share information across trading, portfolio management, and research, and initiative in identifying and addressing gaps in coverage or analytics.
• CFA charter or progress toward the designation.

Responsibilities

• Execute transactions across emerging markets instruments, including hard currency sovereign and quasi-sovereign bonds, investment-grade and high-yield corporate credit, local currency government bonds and bills, spot and forward foreign exchange, non-deliverable forwards, interest rate and cross-currency swaps, and single-name and index credit default swaps.
• Select execution methods—including voice negotiation, request for quote, all-to-all protocols, and list or portfolio trades—based on order size, liquidity, portfolio manager urgency, and price constraints.
• Manage execution across time zones and local market hours, including onshore and offshore access routes, restricted-market documentation, holiday calendars, and market-specific settlement conventions.
• Use judgment to determine when to work an order over time, source risk in size, or advise the portfolio manager that a trade is not achievable at acceptable cost.
• Partner with portfolio managers and research analysts to translate country, curve, and issuer views into implementable trade structures across rates, credit, and currency.
• Manage cash and currency positioning, including subscription and redemption flows, coupon and maturity proceeds, currency hedges, and settlement mismatches.
• Allocate trades across accounts in accordance with firm policy, maintain target exposures consistent with portfolio guidelines, and resolve settlement and documentation issues with operations and counterparties.
• Provide market color on positioning, dealer inventory, new issue supply and concessions, index events, and liquidity changes by country and instrument.
• Identify relative value across curves, currencies, and capital structures, and participate in country, sector, and strategy discussions.
• Manage relationships with assigned counterparties, including regional and local banks, and hold them accountable for pricing, axe quality, and responsiveness.
• Monitor execution outcomes using transaction cost analysis, completion rates, dealer response quality, and the cost of unworked or partially executed orders; direct order flow accordingly.
• Use execution and analytics platforms in daily work and improve the workflow from portfolio manager instruction through completed trade.
• Define and refine rules for low-touch and automated execution, including size, liquidity, and volatility conditions for orders handled without trader intervention.
• Represent emerging markets requirements to trading technology and data teams, specify tool requirements, test tools before release, and assess capabilities including AI-assisted research synthesis and market monitoring.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• Annual bonus eligibility
• Generous retirement plan
• Hybrid work schedule
• Health and wellness benefits, including online therapy
• Paid time off for vacation, illness, medical appointments, and volunteering days
• Family care resources, including fertility and adoption benefits

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level