The expert
Manuel Mifsud
FX market-abuse and surveillance specialist
- Current
Global FX SME, market abuse and trade surveillance, first line of defence (1LOD)
Leading global and UK FX market-making institution. Independent review of alerts closed by the second line — from the orders and trades, not the write-up — and that conclusion to senior stakeholders.
- Previously
Global FX SME, market abuse and trade surveillance, second line of defence (2LOD)
Leading global and UK FX market-making institution. Global trade and communications surveillance. QA of alert closures, STORs and market observations to the FCA, and the design of manual surveillance for FX.
- Earlier
Senior Partner / Head of Trading
Hedge fund managing in excess of $1 billion. Day-to-day running of a fixed-income relative-value book. As CIO, the fund’s strongest risk-adjusted years.
- Earlier
Proprietary trading
Sell-side, London. Built and ran trading teams. Execution across electronic platforms, DMA and internal crossing.
- Earlier
Head of EMEA FX exotic/structured products and vanilla derivatives
North American investment bank, EMEA. Youngest managing director at that bank at 27. Helped create complex FX barrier structures that remain widely used.
Manuel Mifsud is Global FX SME in the first line of defence (1LOD) and second line of defence (2LOD) at leading global and UK FX market-making institutions, reviewing the bank’s own trades and alerts. Before surveillance he headed EMEA FX exotic/structured products and vanilla derivatives at a North American investment bank, was Senior Partner / Head of Trading of a fund managing in excess of $1 billion, and a senior portfolio manager. He is a member of the Expert Witness Institute. Instructions are taken personally.
Who instructs
Solicitors and counsel — often before they know whether the file is a foreign-exchange problem. If it involves currencies, options, whether a price was a genuine market, or a bank’s surveillance of its traders, that is this practice. You do not need to already know the product.
Banks and in-house teams — independent review of your own alerts and trades. Whether a second-line (2LOD) closure is supported by the orders underneath it. What a senior stakeholder should be told.
The duty, if instructed as an expert witness, is to the court or tribunal, not to the instructing party. No success fee is accepted. Current and former employers are disclosed at conflicts.
Credentials
- Education
- BSc (Hons) Banking and International Finance, City University Business School (1992)
- Qualifications
- Investment Management Certificate · SFA Registered Representative · SFA Futures and Options Representative
- Membership
- Member of the Expert Witness Institute
- Markets
- Foreign exchange (FX) derivatives — barriers, vanillas, exotics, spot and forwards. Currency markets are the specialist area.
- Surveillance
- First-line (1LOD) and second-line (2LOD) market abuse: independent alert review, STORs, and the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). Instructed on FX and, where the file requires it, more widely.
Career
July 1992 to December 1993
FX spot trader / ECU basket specialist (Graduate Trainee)
UBS
FX spot and the European Currency Unit basket.
January 1994 to August 1998
Head of EMEA FX exotic and structured products
CIBC Financial Products
Headed the EMEA FX exotic/structured products and vanilla derivatives division. At 27, the youngest managing director at that bank. Helped create complex FX barrier option structures that remain widely used, working from volatility, pay-offs and market dynamics rather than from a term-sheet template.
1998–2005
Proprietary trading
Sell-side · London
Built and ran trading teams. Execution across electronic platforms, DMA and internal crossing, according to the strategy rather than a single channel.
2005–2007
Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager
Tribeca Global Investments (Citibank)
Brought in to start and run the London capital-markets arm of Citibank’s multi-strategy internal hedge fund. Set up risk, prime brokerage and hiring around a $75 million book.
2007–2010
Senior Partner / Head of Trading
NyLon Capital Management LLP
Senior Partner / Head of Trading of a hedge fund managing in excess of $1 billion. Day-to-day running of a fixed-income relative-value book. Investment work across fundamental, technical and quantitative analysis, cross-currency correlation and FX volatility relative value. As CIO, 2008 and 2009 were the fund’s strongest risk-adjusted years.
2010–2011
Senior Portfolio Manager
Prologue Capital LLP
Set up an FX business from scratch alongside an existing interest-rate franchise. Managed a $100 million portfolio of FX derivative strategies.
2011–2024
Private investor
Own account · FX and macro hedge-fund consultancy
Full-time investing, after two decades on the desk and in funds, and consultancy to FX and macro hedge funds.
2024–2025
Global FX SME, market abuse and trade surveillance, second line of defence (2LOD)
UBS
Subject-matter expert on global trade and communications surveillance in rates and credit. Helped create and mentor an FCA lookback remediation. QA of alert closures, STORs and market observations to the FCA, MAR training for new joiners, and manual surveillance controls for fixed income and FX.
2025–present
Global FX SME, market abuse and trade surveillance, first line of defence (1LOD)
NatWest Markets
Independent review of a sample of alerts closed by 2LOD, from the underlying trade and order data rather than from the 2LOD write-up. Assesses whether activity is consistent with legitimate market behaviour or may indicate abuse, and presents that conclusion to senior stakeholders.
Training and controls
2024–25
MAR training for new joiners and existing staff
Authored and delivered at UBS
2024–25
Template for Fixed Income STOR submissions
UBS 2LOD surveillance, used for subsequent FCA submissions
2024–25
Manual surveillance controls for fixed income and FX
Documented procedures presented to steering committees