UK Stewardship Code 2021 (the “Code”)

Disclosure Statement Under COBS 2.2.3R of the Financial Conduct Authority Handbook, Vittoria & Partners LLP (“V&P” or the “Firm”) is required to make a public disclosure in relation to the nature of the Firm’s commitment to the Code, which was published by the Financial Reporting Council (“FRC”) and came into effect on 1 st January 2020 (updating the 2012 UK Stewardship Code).

If the Firm does not commit to the Code, it must disclose its alternative investment strategy. The Code aims to enhance the quality of engagement between institutional investors and companies to help improve long-term returns to shareholders and the efficient exercise of governance responsibilities.

The Code has four main sections:

  • Purpose and Governance;
  • Investment Approach;
  • Engagement; and
  • Exercising Rights and Responsibilities.

It sets out good practice on engagement with investee companies and comprises a set of ‘apply and explain’ principles for asset managers and asset owners, and a separate set of principles for service providers.

The FRC recognises that not all parts of the Code will be relevant to all institutional investors and that smaller institutions may judge some of the principles and guidance to be disproportionate. It is of course legitimate for some asset managers not to engage with companies, depending on their investment strategy and, in such cases, firms are required to explain why it is not appropriate to comply with a particular principle.

The Code comprises of 12 principles which are outlined below. An asset manager must explain how:

  1. its purpose, investment beliefs, strategy and culture enable stewardship that creates long term value for clients and beneficiaries leading to sustainable benefits for the economy, the environment and society;
  2. its governance, resources and incentives support stewardship;
  3. it manages conflicts of interest to put the best interests of clients and beneficiaries first;
  4. it identifies and responds to market-wide and systemic risks to promote a well-functioning financial system;
  5. it reviews its policies, assures its processes and assesses the effectiveness of its activities;
  6. it takes into account client and beneficiary needs and communicates the activities and outcomes of its stewardship and investment to them;
  7. it systematically integrates stewardship and investment, including material environmental, social and governance issues, and climate change, to fulfil its responsibilities;
  8. it monitors and holds to account managers and/or service providers;
  9. it engages with issuers to maintain or enhance the value of assets;
  10. where necessary, it participates in collaborative engagement to influence issuers;
  11. where necessary, it escalates stewardship activities to influence issuers; and
  12. it actively exercises its rights and responsibilities.

V&P does not currently fully comply with the Code for the following reasons:

  • The investment strategies we manage are diverse, meaning that it is not possible to have a single policy that covers all situations;
  • The Firm’s business model includes funds and accounts being managed by a variety of portfolio managers who operate independently of each other and as such, a single approach is not appropriate;
  • Sometimes the funds and accounts are managed for temporary periods only; and
  • We determine our approach to stewardship on a case by case basis, taking into account the actions that will lead to the most favourable outcome for the value of our investments.

This statement will be reviewed at least on an annual basis. Should any of the above factors change, we will review our commitment to the Code at that time and make an appropriate disclosure

Vittoria & Partners LLP is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 709710)

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SENIOR COMPLIANCE MONITORING OFFICER

Nathalie Hankey

Nathalie Hankey is the Deputy Compliance Officer and a Senior Compliance Monitoring Officer.  She focuses on investment management clients.

A qualified barrister, she went on to gain nearly twenty years of experience of financial management in the commercial sector. Nathalie most recently spent 3.5 years as Compliance Officer and MLRO at Cirera Capital Limited, a global macro hedge fund, which was authorized and regulated with the FCA, as well as being registered as an investment adviser with the SEC.

Prior to that, she was a co-founder and partner at Attune Partners LLP, an outsourced in-house compliance consultancy, working with a wide range of asset managers.

Nathalie began her asset management career as General Counsel at an investment management platform which provides both regulatory hosting and fund platform structures. Nathalie has extensive experience in structuring compliant asset management frameworks incorporating multiple strategies and instruments including long short equity, derivatives, futures, FX, real estate, loans, private equity, venture capital and commodities. Nathalie is fluent in German.

SENIOR COMPLIANCE MONITORING EXECUTIVE

Paul Springer

Since September 2021 he has been a Senior Surveillance Analyst at Global Regulatory Surveillance Services, an associate company of Vittoria & Partners.

Paul held the position of Senior Compliance Consultant at ACA Mirabella, where he was responsible for monitoring some of the largest and most complex clients served by Mirabella. He is a compliance professional with 25+ years of regulatory experience.

At ACA Mirabella, as well as implementing a compliance infrastructure at each client and conducting ongoing compliance reviews, Paul’s role encompassed oversight and review of clients’ electronic communications (employing Fingerprint) and their staff members’ personal compliance interactions (utilising Compliance ELF).

Paul spent 5 years at the FCA (then the FSA) as the Manager of a Corporate Authorisation team, followed by approximately 20 years of compliance experience in the financial services industry. He has worked in-house and held the Compliance Officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer roles for approximately 12 years, firstly at a broking firm which he joined at start-up, and then a hedge fund manager. Paul also spent over 3 years working at a leading compliance consultancy, providing compliance support to clients (including full-scope and sub-threshold AIFMs, investment managers and advisers). He is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

SENIOR RISK OFFICER

Antonella Cutajar CFA

Antonella joined V&P as a Senior Risk Officer in 2023 after having been working in the regulatory hosting business for over 7 years, specialising in investment management activity under the AIFMD and MIFID space. Her focus is primarily on investment risk management and trading data setup for risk monitoring purposes.

Before joining V&P, Antonella formed part of the risk team at ACA Mirabella where she started her career as a junior risk associate in 2016 and progressed gradually to a senior risk officer role. In her final two years, she was leading the risk team where she was responsible for training newly on-boarded team members, overseeing the day-to-day risk management operations, formed part of the risk and valuation committees, and specialised in client-facing risk on-boarding. During her time at Mirabella, Antonella was also appointed as the Risk Manager for the company, after having been approved by the MFSA (the Maltese financial regulator).

Prior to focusing on finance, Antonella obtained a first-class degree in B.Sc. Mathematics and Physics from the University of Malta in 2016. Immediately after her degree, she transferred the analytical and problem-solving skills acquired through her studies to the financial services industry.

DEVOPS ENGINEER

Gabriel Falzon

Gabriel, a DevOps Engineer with over seven years of experience, joined Vittoria & Partners in March 2023. Prior to this role, Gabriel was a DevOps Engineer at a private Investment Management firm for two years, working on quantitative algorithms. His extensive experience also includes working at Mirabella Group for five years, where he transitioned from being a Risk Associate to a DevOps Engineer.

Gabriel holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Mathematics and Physics, with a specialization in Astrophysics, from the University of Malta. Additionally, he has furthered his expertise by earning a certification in Cyber Security for Business Leaders from the University of Oxford, issued in June 2021. Gabriel’s background positions him at the intersection of Development Operations, Data Science, and Investment Management, making him a versatile asset in any tech-driven organization.

SENIOR RISK OFFICER

Maria Abela CFA

Maria joined Vittoria & Partners in June 2023 as a Senior Risk Officer. She has over 6 years of experience in risk management, having worked in both the banking and regulatory hosting industries. Maria’s expertise in risk management is complemented by her academic background in finance and engineering. She has a keen eye for detail and is adept at identifying and mitigating risks. Her experience in the banking and regulatory hosting industries has given her a deep understanding of financial regulations, which she leverages to ensure compliance and minimize risk. At V&P, Maria is responsible for risk on-boarding and monitoring and also manages several systems used throughout the on-boarding process. Maria worked at Mirabella from 2018 to 2021.

Maria holds an MSc in Corporate Finance from Bayes Business School, London and a BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering from City University London. She is also a CFA charterholder.

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Analise Bezzina Attard

Analise Attard Bezzina is the group Chief Financial Officer. She has been working in accounting for over 15 years, starting at PwC in 2005 moving to Bee insurance, and then into the alternative investment management sector in 2017. She acted as CFO to a major international fund management firm, and then joined Mirabella Malta in 2020.

She joined V&P in 2021 and has helped to setup the accounting and payroll systems for Cavidomo, the intended new owner of V&P (pending FCA permission) and Global Regulatory Surveillance Systems, an affiliated firm. The systems installed give the management team at V&P high quality and rapid management financial information.

Analise graduated from the University of Malta with a B.Sc. in Accounting. She is a CPA and a member of the AIA.

GENERAL COUNSEL

Catherine Janula

Catherine, currently serving as General Counsel & Partner at Vittoria and Partners LLP in London, is a legal professional with an extensive background in corporate law, financial services regulation and mergers and acquisitions. With a track record of success in various legal roles, she brings a wealth of expertise to the table.
As General Counsel, Catherine oversees in-house legal matters providing strategic guidance to the firm and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. Her responsibilities encompass a wide range of in-house legal, regulatory and governance functions.

Before joining Vittoria and Partners, Catherine served as a lawyer in the corporate, mergers and acquisitions, and finance department of a well-reputed law firm in Malta. In this role, she advised on international merger and acquisition transactions, corporate restructuring exercises, transfers of business, and various corporate and commercial matters. Her expertise extended to regulatory advice on financial institutions, investment firms, and collective investment schemes. She also concurrently held the position of company secretary at an investment fund manager based in Malta where she managed a spectrum of company secretarial duties for the fund manager and its board of directors. She excelled in handling inquiries on company secretarial services and ensuring compliance with regulatory and statutory requirements.

Before her time in Malta, Catherine held key positions at Mirabella Financial Services LLP in London, where she played a crucial role in the regulatory aspects of the firm. As Senior Associate in Compliance and later Senior Counsel, she led initiatives such as the onboarding due diligence functions, developed compliance and regulatory infrastructure, and managed relationships with external counsel.

Catherine’s legal journey began as a lawyer in Malta at a major law firm focusing on corporate, criminal and civil matters and later on at a corporate advisory firm in Malta, focusing on regulatory compliance and corporate matters. Subsequently, she gained valuable experience at UK based compliance consulting firms, where she developed her compliance and regulatory experience for UK-based investment management firms.

Education-wise, Catherine holds a Doctor of Laws from the University of Malta. She also earned a Bachelor of Laws with European Studies (2:1) from the University of Malta.

With her diverse legal background, hands-on experience, and dedication to regulatory compliance, Catherine is well-equipped to navigate the complexities of the regulatory landscape and contribute to the success of Vittoria and Partners LLP.

SENIOR RISK OFFICER

Ryan Farrugia

Ryan most recently held the position of Senior Risk Associate at ACA Mirabella, where he was responsible for reviewing clients’ investment processes, risk management processes, strategy complexity, and operational arrangements. He was responsible for monitoring clients’ trading activities daily, including risk/trading limits. Ryan was also involved with the creation of the Governance Risk Compliance Operations Unit within the company.

After graduating with a Bachelors’ Degree in Commerce, a Post Graduate Certificate in Finance, and a Master’s Degree in Investment and Finance, Ryan spent over two years at APS Bank in Risk Management and Finance.

SENIOR RISK OFFICER

Elizabeth Mallia

An awardee of the Marie Curie Actions scholarship, Elizabeth built up her data crunching and analytical skills in theoretical motor neuroscience where she investigated brain mechanisms in action initiation at the Institute of Neurology, University College London.

She transferred her skillset to financial services in 2017, where she formed part of a formidable risk team at the regulatory hosting platform, ACA Mirabella. There she held the position of Senior Risk Associate, where she concentrated on risk management for funds with model-based strategies, focusing primarily on insurance-linked security investments. As part of the same role, Elizabeth worked with a subsection of the team on consolidating and improving the surveillance framework for potential market abuse of the platform’s diverse clientele, promoting an evidence-based approach in the set-up of the framework.

Having also previously had the opportunity to study and work at various neuro-research institutions, including Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm and Radboud UMC, Nijmegen, Elizabeth brings multi-faceted experience in breaking down complex problems to facilitate custom solutions.

SENIOR RISK OFFICER

Nicholai Cumbo Clarke

Prior to joining V&P in 2022, he spent a year at an affiliated firm, Global Regulatory Surveillance Services (GRSS). Before working at GRSS he
spent five years working at ACA Mirabella. During his time there, he worked closely with the compliance team and helped develop the regulatory reporting processes. He was also responsible for on-boarded and monitoring clients, as well as assessing clients’ trading, and operational arrangements He has covered diverse strategies, including equities, commodities, fixed income, and real estate/private equity.

After graduating with a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Malta, Nicholai went on to become a certified Financial Risk Manager (Certified by the Global Association of Risk Professionals).

HEAD OF RISK & OPERATIONS

George Camilleri

Since September 2021 he has been the Head of Risk & Operations at Global Regulatory Surveillance Services, an associate company of Vittoria & Partners.

Before joining GRSS, George worked at ACA Mirabella for six years as Head of Risk Operations and managed the Malta-based Risk Team responsible for all the Firm’s risk monitoring and regulatory reporting.

He holds an MSc in Financial Mathematics from the University of Leeds, focusing on quantitative risk management, and a BSc in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Malta. He has also taken several short courses, including the Oxford Private Markets Certificate at the Saїd Business School, and completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Leeds.

In his free time, George volunteers for non-governmental organisations within the cultural sector in Malta, having an interest in the arts and classical music.

HEAD OF SALES

Sarah Donnelly

Sarah has spent the last 20 years in Business Development roles within governance risk and compliance firms in the financial services sector. 

Sarah left ACA Mirabella in 2020, where she held the role of Head of Sales. In this role, she was focused on the company’s growth, from targeting new business opportunities to nurturing existing client relationships.

Over the previous 12 years, Sarah had headed up the Sales and Business Development team at Cordium. Before this Sarah had background in sales, talent management, and business process consulting in the UK and overseas with working with Michael Page International and Accounting Professionals She has a wide network of service providers that can assist new start- up managers and overseas firms coming into the UK and is a regular speaker at industry events. 

Sarah graduated from Sussex with a BA Honours Degree, is a qualified Garden Designer  and is currently working towards the CIPD Foundation Certificate in People Practice.

Sarah will continue to head up Sales for Global Regulatory Surveillance Services, a uniquely complimentary business to Vittoria & Partners.

CEO

Joe Vittoria

Joe was most recently the CEO and Founder of the Mirabella Group. Mirabella started hosting managers in 2001 and was one of the earliest participants in the regulatory hosting industry.

In 2009 he sold the business and withdrew from the CEO role but returned to it in 2012. Over the next eight years he developed Mirabella into the recognized leader and largest (by AuM) regulatory hosting provider in the UK. As its CEO, and compliance officer he was responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance of Mirabella, and during his tenure at Mirabella, the firm fully and successfully complied with all of its regulatory obligations, which included the FCA (UK), MFSA (Malta), and the NFA/CFTC (USA).

Mirabella was responsible for the regulated activity of over 250+ people working in its 70+ clients, which in total amounted to over $19bn in assets under management. The investment strategies it hosted ranged from Private Equity and Real Estate to complex credit and derivative processes, with the majority in long/short equity. Mirabella became known as the firm most trusted and used by institutional allocators and managers in this industry. Joe parted ways with Mirabella in Aug 2020, due to a strategic change in direction by the firm’s owners. In the months following his departure over half the firm’s staff resigned, and many joined Joe at V&P, with more to follow.

Apart from his experience at Mirabella, Joe has acted as COO to other investment management firms, which included quant, debt and credit strategies. Before starting in the alternative investment management industry in 1998, Joe worked at Salomon Brothers which he joined in 1985, after graduating from Yale with a BA in Economics.

Joe will continue as CEO of Global Regulatory Surveillance Services, a uniquely complimentary business to Vittoria & Partners.