Zest SA
ZEST is an independent asset manager based in Lugano, regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”) under the Collective Investment Schemes Act (“CISA”) and member of the Swiss Association of Asset Managers (ASG).
The Chief Investment Officer: Alberto Conca
Alberto Conca is the Head of the Investment Management Division in Zest. Before than Zest he was managing long/short equity funds at Lemanik. During his career, he worked for several asset managers, including Pioneer Alternative Investment, Aletti Gestielle and Kairos Alternative Investments, where he was name #1 Portfolio Manager for US markets; had been awarded, since ‘98 to ’02, as top performing US Fund by Milano Finanza and Il Sole 24 Ore, in their respective category
The Investment Management Team The team is made of 8 senior Portfolio Managers covering different asset classes and geographies. Regular investment committees support the knowledge sharing and favor a continuous dialogue within the structure.
Dedicated Trading Desk An experienced trading desk support the daily fund management activities and the interaction with brokers and with the other counterparties
Risk and Compliance Function A dedicated Risk and Compliance Function overviews and supervise the compliance with limits, regulations and investment policies in respect to each fund
The Portfolio Manager: Antonio Midolo
After graduating in Economics at the University of Torino, Antonio started his career as an equity financial analyst at Sanpaolo Intesa Asset Management in 1986 and as a Portfolio Manager in 1991, becoming the Head of US Equity Market Funds supervising several investment funds (the most important being SP Asset Management US Equity Fund, with 2Bn of AuM). After a brief experience in Antonveneta Bank, he supervised the joint venture with ABN Amro. He then joined Symphonia Sgr in 1999, where he was named Head of International Equity markets, managing several investment funds, among which Symphonia Fortissimo and the Banca Intermobiliare Flessibile, other than private clients’ portfolios. In 2007, he moved on to Investimenti & Sviluppo and then Finleasing Lombarda SPA until 2010. After some years dedicated to complementary experiences in Real Estate and Banking, in 2017 he returns to the Asset Management Industry with AQA Capital and then Zest as Portfolio Manager.
«I was at the beginning of my career, at Alliance Capital in NY (US Partner of SIP), developing quantitative methods of portfolio management , when I saw the launch of one of the first SPACs; after years of growth, we believed US SPACs reached maturity and deserve a fully dedicated European Investment Fund» Antonio Midolo
