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SMBC Americas Chief Economist
Joseph Lavorgna is a nationally recognized economist with three decades of experience advising Wall Street leaders and top policymakers, now serving as Chief Economist for SMBC Americas. As former Counselor to the U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent and spokesperson for the department, he served as a key advisor across the NEC, CEA, and Federal Reserve. Prior to his Treasury role, Joe was the Chief US Economist at Deutsche Bank and at Natixis. Early in his career, Joe worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He is a sought-after voice on economic matters and regularly speaks with clients and the media to deliver clear, market-driven insights.
Head of US Rate Strategy
Joseph Abate runs US interest rate strategy at SMBC Nikko. He started his career as an economic analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. From there he moved to the private sector where he has focused on liquidity and funding market dynamics. He writes about repo, money markets and the front-end of the US Treasury market. Another research focus is stablecoins and the tokenization of cash-like instruments. Joseph has a BA in Economics and French from Vassar College and an MBA from New York University.
US Rate Strategist
Monty Gandhi joined SMBC Capital Markets, Inc in June 2020 as a rates strategist. He has more than 20 years of investment experience in both buy side and sell side. Prior to joining SMBC-CM, he spent 3 years at HSBC and 10 years at Citigroup in various positions that included US Rates strategy, Latam and Asia Rates/FX strategy. Monty has an MBA in Finance from the NYU-Stern School of Business and an Bachelors of Science in Accounting from Rutgers University, NJ. He has also passed all three levels of the CFA examination.
Senior Economist
Troy Ludtka is Director and Senior US Economist at SMBC Nikko Securities America, based in New York City. He frequently appears on television and is often quoted in leading financial news outlets. Troy joined the firm in January 2023 after more than four years at Natixis CIB Americas, where he was recognized by Bloomberg as a ranked forecaster. He holds a B.A. in economics from Bard College and leads the firm’s US macroeconomic forecasting efforts, publishing regularly on thematic macroeconomic trends and financial market dynamics.
