Our Team

Christian Manicaro

Managing Director, Partner

Christian graduated in Economics from the University of Malta and started his career as a Merger and Acquisitions analyst at the Office of Competition. Later, he moved to the United Kingdom, reading an MSc at the University of York and acquiring the CFA Charterholder. After his studies, Christian joined APS Bank Limited in Malta as a fund manager. He then joined AQA Capital Ltd, setting up offices in Malta and networking connections throughout the country. He is also currently reading a PhD in Finance and is a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta. Christian is a Director and the Chief Executive Officer at AQA Capital Ltd.

Alberto Conca

Director, Partner

Alberto, with over 20 years of expertise in fund and portfolio management, joined Zest as the Chief Investment Officer in 2018. Prior to this, he co-founded AQA Capital in 2015. His career milestones include co-managing long-short equity funds at Sequoia and Lemanik, partnering at Kairos Alternative Investments, and roles in Pioneer Alternative Investment in Ireland and Aletti Gestille. Alberto's foundation in the field began with roles as an Equity Manager and Fund Manager at RAS. After earning his degree in Economics and Commerce from the University of Pavia, he ventured to Connecticut, focusing on the development of non-linear models for predicting volatility.

Gabriele Rossi

Partner

Gabriele is a co-founder and shareholder of AQA Capital Holding, a European Super Management Company (ManCo), and a shareholder and board member of LFG Holding, one of Switzerland's largest independent Wealth Management groups. He serves on various boards of companies operating primarily, but not exclusively, in the financial services industry. In 2015, Gabriele co-founded AQA Capital with Alberto Conca. The firm specializes in the UCITS and AIF sectors and employs over 50 specialists across its headquarters in Malta, a branch in Milan, and representative offices in Prague and London. AQA Capital provides both onshore and offshore expertise to an international client base. In 2018, Gabriele invested in Zest SA, becoming a shareholder and general manager. Over the following three years, Zest SA significantly increased its AUM, which led to its merger with LFG Holding in 2021. At LFG Holding, Gabriele is one of six shareholders. The group operates three FINMA-regulated companies in Switzerland, managing 3 billion in AUM with teams based in Lugano, Zurich, and Sion. Before founding AQA Capital, Gabriele managed equity funds at Sequoia and Lemanik, led the equity research department at Exane BNP Paribas, and worked as an equity analyst at Mediobanca. Earlier in his career, he held roles in auditing at PwC and financial planning at Vodafone.

Elaine Bonnici

Director

Elaine started her career at one of Malta’s leading banks, focused primarily on retail and commercial advances. She then moved to the Malta Financial Services Authority, within the Authorisation Unit, gaining extensive experience in the regulatory framework for investment services and collective investment schemes. Elaine joined AQA Capital as the Head of Compliance and was later appointed as Head of Strategy and Business Development. She also sits on the board of Irish and Luxembourgish collective investment schemes. Elaine holds an Honours Degree in Banking and Finance and a Master’s Degree in Banking and Finance, both awarded from the University of Malta, and has her academic work published in the Islamic Economic Studies journal. Elaine is a Director and Head of Strategy and Business Development at AQA Capital Ltd.

Maria Attard

Director

Maria Attard assists clients with regulatory compliance and AML-CFT advisory.  As part of her role, Maria acts as Compliance Officer for a number of clients licenced under the Investment Services Act, Company Service Providers Act and the Trusts and Trustees Act. Maria assists clients in drafting and implementing an effective risk-based Compliance Monitoring Programme and advises the Board on regulatory matters to ensure compliance with applicable regulations. Besides assisting on regulatory compliance matters, Maria assists clients with drafting an effective AML-CFT framework.

Sarah Farrugia

Director

Sarah Farrugia specialises in regulatory compliance of Fund Managers, Funds, MiFID firms, Depositaries, and CSPs amongst others. In her role, Sarah assists clients with monitoring and evaluating the adequacy and effectiveness of the measures, policies and procedures of the Company through the implementation of an effective risk-based Compliance Monitoring Programme. Sarah also provides advice to the client’s board, senior management and any other persons on compliance with laws, rules, regulations, any conditions arising from the entity’s authorisation conditions as well as updates on any new regulatory developments.
In addition to her role as Compliance Officer, Sarah can provide compliance advisory services, which includes assisting clients with drafting and reviewing various policies and procedures, as required.

Alex Vella

Director

Alex brings over 15 years of experience in the financial sector, with a focus on Risk Management, Compliance, and Portfolio Management. His career has included roles such as CEO of a boutique asset management firm, Head of Derivatives at NBG Bank Malta, and Portfolio Manager at the Central Bank of Malta, where he contributed to the ECB’s Bond Buying SMP Programme. Previously a self-employed Risk Management Consultant, Alex advised investment firms on regulatory frameworks. Currently, he oversees risk management for the derivatives segment at a global leading exchange. He holds an MSc in Economics (Finance) from the University of Copenhagen and is actively involved in sustainability initiatives focused on environmental regeneration.

Francesca Gauci

Chief Risk Officer

Francesca Gauci provides RMC Wise Limited’s clientele with risk management services, both from a quantitative and qualitative risk management perspective. Francesca assists clients on the drafting and reviewing of policies and procedures, as well as the compilation of the risk register. Francesca also helps in the identification, evaluation, mitigation, monitoring and reporting of all material risks across all areas.
Furthermore, Francesca provides assistance to clients from a quantitative risk management element, by monitoring the respective portfolios’ risks. Additionally, Francesca performs Compliance Monitoring checks to ensure eligibility on the investment restrictions, imposed by the UCITS and AIFM Directive and the client, if any, as well as making sure the portfolio is in conformity with any applicable limits.

Brandon Galea

Money Laundering Reporting Officer 

Brandon Galea provides AML/CFT advisory services to RMC’s clientele specialising in AML/CFT compliance of Fund Managers, Funds, MiFID firms, Depositaries, Gaming, VFA Service Providers and CSPs amongst others

Brandon has been engaged in a number of AML/CFT audits, gap analyses and risk assessments. He also carries out reviews of policies and procedures for a number of industry players and delivers training to officers and staff of various institutions.

Maija Cini Portelli

Compliance Officer

Marija obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Banking and Finance and Statistics and Operations Research from the University of Malta in 2016. She started her career working as a fund administrator with PraxisIFM Malta where she gained extensive knowledge in fund management. Marija then continued her studies at the University of Malta, graduating with a Master’s Degree in Banking and Finance. Marija is the Compliance Officer at AQA Capital Ltd.

Ryan Gatt

Business Development Officer

Ryan brings over a decade of experience in the investment management industry to GuildAM. He began his career as a trader and analyst at a Maltese-licensed investment manager, gaining a strong foundation in market analysis and strategic trading. He then transitioned to Fixed Income trading and Business Development for an Australian-based parent company, where he played a key role in expanding investment opportunities and market presence. He later served as an Investment Advisory Committee Member, advising on an Alternative Strategy managed by a Luxembourg-based fund manager. More recently, he has been involved in managing a range of hedge funds specialising in alternative credit infrastructure and commercial lending across the UK. Now, Ryan serves as a Business Implementation Manager at AQA Capital while also focusing on Business Development at GuildAM, leveraging his extensive experience to drive growth.

Giovanni Pierucci

Portfolio Manager

Giovanni obtained his Master’s Degree “cum laude” in Corporate Finance in 2022 from LUISS University, where he also completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Management in 2019. During his studies, he spent a semester studying Finance and Economics at Rennes School of Business as part of the Master’s Degree program.

Andrea Vella

Portfolio Manager

Andrea holds a bachelor's degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Malta and later moved to the United Kingdom to complete an MSc in Finance at the Newcastle University. Before joining AQA Capital, he built his experience with a local fund administrator and the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). At the MFSA, he started as a junior analyst focused on market infrastructure, eventually moving into a role where he analyzed prospectuses of equity and bond securities, prior to their listing on the capital markets.

Alberto Tittoni

Portfolio Manager

Alberto obtained his master’s degree in Corporate Finance at the LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome in 2021. In the same year he completed an internship at ItaliaCamp working as an impact officer. He wrote his bachelor’s degree thesis on Cryptocurrencies impact on Financial industry and his master’s degree thesis on Artificial Intelligence impact on the Investment Management Industry, which received the maximum votes and earned the “laude”.

Andrea Tinti

Trader

Andrea holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Banking from the University of Siena and a Master’s Degree in Banking and Finance from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, both awarded cum laude. He completed his Master’s degree in March 2025. During his academic journey, he attended the Summer School at the University of Warwick, where he completed the course Money and Banking with top marks. His Master’s thesis, titled "An Empirical Analysis of the Financial Performance of Active Portfolios on the DAX Stock Market", focused on the performance evaluation of active investment strategies in the German equity market. Since October 2024, Andrea has been working as a Trader at AQA Capital Ltd.

Kevin D’Ugo

AML/CFT Regulatory Compliance Senior Associate

After graduating his Bachelor’s degree in Economics & Management from the University of Malta in 2008, Kevin started his career in the iGaming industry with various roles in Risk Management and Sports betting Trading. In 2011, Kevin completed his Master’s degree in Business Administration and moved on to the public sector as a Procurement Manager with various entities. Kevin was then appointed as an Assistant Director for Administration in 2017 at the Department of Contracts. 

Zara Acosta Monsalve

AML/CFT Regulatory Compliance Associate

Zara graduated cum laude with a law degree from the University of Carabobo in Venezuela and later specialized in criminalistics. She began her career with an internship at the international law firm Travieso, Evans Rengel & Paz. Later, she worked at the Venezuelan Prosecutor’s Office, starting as an assistant attorney, and eventually becoming a Prosecutor. Zara moved to Argentina, where she earned a diploma in Human Resources and worked as a supervisor at Corteva Agriscience, a leading agribusiness company. She studied a program in Canada earning a Diploma with High Honours in International Business from Seneca College in Toronto. In 2023, Zara relocated to Malta and became a Governance Officer at AQA Capital.