Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors

Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors, known in Malta as JMFA, looks after the savings and investments of private individuals, companies and institutions. It gives personal advice on local and international securities, runs discretionary portfolios, manages its own range of UCITS funds under the Merill name and arranges pension, savings and protection products. For a UK reader who has moved to the island, or who is weighing up a move, it is one of the established local names in investment advice.

The firm is licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) to carry on investment services business under the Investment Services Act, and it is registered as a tied insurance intermediary under the Insurance Distribution Act. Its registered address is the Central Business Hub on Mdina Road in Attard, in the centre of the island, and its team works across several offices.

From two firms to one name

The business has roots in two Maltese firms. Jesmond Mizzi Financial Services Limited was founded in 2002 and received a Class 2 Investment Services licence from the MFSA, which allows a firm to hold client money and assets. In 2007 it took over the client base of another local financial services provider. Atlas Investment Services Limited, the second firm, had held an investment services licence since 1996, concentrated on high net worth clients and was a member firm of the Malta Stock Exchange.

The boards of the two companies agreed to merge in 2009, and Atlas JMFS Investment Services Limited came into being on 23 July 2010. In October 2012 the combined business adopted its current name, Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors, while the Atlas Group kept a partial shareholding. Several directors are drawn from Atlas, the Maltese insurance group, which explains the close tie between investment and insurance work at the firm.

Readers new to the local market can get useful background from our overview of financial services in Malta, which explains how the sector is supervised and why so many international firms base themselves here.

Personal investment advice and wealth management

Advice starts with getting to know the client. The firm works on a Know Your Client basis, establishing each person's goals, needs and appetite for risk before recommending anything, and it then reviews the relationship over time rather than treating advice as a one-off. Advisers deal in local and foreign shares, bonds and collective investment schemes, so clients can hold Maltese listed securities alongside funds and bonds from markets around the world.

Wealth management is aimed at people who want a fuller service: building a financial plan to protect family wealth, shaping a strategy for a business owner, specialist advice and discretionary management, all on a flexible, relationship-based footing. The Managed Portfolio Services option suits busy professionals who would rather hand day-to-day decisions to a portfolio manager while they get on with their working lives.

For smaller sums there is a regular savings route, with flexible contributions from €50 a month. Investing a fixed amount each month spreads purchases over time, a technique known as cost averaging, which can smooth out the effect of market swings. If you are comparing local firms, our directory of financial advisors in Malta lists other practices on the island.

Merill funds and in-house asset management

A distinctive part of the business is its own fund range. Merill SICAV plc launched its first sub-fund, the Merill Total Return Income Fund, in 2016 with seed capital of €15 million. The Merill Global Equity Income Fund and the Merill High Income Fund followed in 2017, a sterling hedged share class of the High Income Fund arrived in March 2019, and a Strategic Balanced Fund in US dollars launched on 4 October 2019. The range now manages more than €150 million in total assets, and a new EUR C distributor share class of the High Income Fund has since been added.

These are UCITS funds, the European regulatory standard for diversified, openly traded investment funds. The in-house asset management team, led by Chief Investment Officer Marc El-Lazidi, researches and manages the portfolios every day. Its publicity features three young Maltese athletes, gymnast Sana Grillo, weightlifter Yazmin Zammit Stevens and basketball player David Bugeja, as a way of backing local talent.

JMFA is also the local representative in Malta for two large international fund houses. Through Janus Henderson Investors, headquartered in London, clients can reach equity, bond and multi-asset sub-funds within the Janus Henderson Horizon Fund and other Janus Henderson vehicles. Through Franklin Templeton, based in San Mateo, California, they can access funds that range from equities to investment grade and sub-investment grade bonds.

Pensions, savings and protection

As a tied insurance intermediary, the firm distributes products from two insurers: MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. for conventional business, including with-profits policies, and IVALIFE Insurance Limited for unit-linked business. Together these give clients access to long-term protection, savings plans and pension products. A tied intermediary works with named insurers rather than the whole market, which is worth knowing when you compare options.

Pension planning is a named service, and the team includes a Personal Pension Specialist, Daniel Simpson, who joined in 2025. If you are setting up home in Malta, this sits alongside the wider questions covered in our guide to relocating to Malta and our explainer on Malta tax for UK nationals. Other specialists appear in our pension advisors directory.

Corporate services for Maltese businesses

Companies are served by a corporate services department under Executive Director Mark Azzopardi, who is responsible for asset management and corporate advisory work. The offer includes tailored solutions for corporate clients, experience across many industries, access to funding through a European network and flexible packages. In practice the team has guided businesses through corporate financing, including raising capital.

The firm's product news regularly covers bond issues on the Malta Stock Exchange, such as the International Hotel Investments plc 5.45% unsecured bonds 2034 and the Agora Estates plc 5.75% secured bonds 2038, giving investors a view of new local issues as they come to market. Business owners structuring a Maltese company may also want to read our summary of the Malta corporate tax structure.

The team and how the firm is run

Jesmond Mizzi is the Managing Director and a non-executive director of Hili Ventures Limited. Michael Gatt, a former Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Insurance PCC Limited with over forty years in insurance, chairs the board. The executive committee includes General Manager Jacques Ellul Soler, Chief Investment Officer Marc El-Lazidi, Head of Investment Advisory Gabriel Mansueto, who joined in 2009, and Head of Compliance Maria Saliba, who also acts as the designated money laundering reporting officer.

Around them sit dedicated teams for wealth management and investment advisory, asset management, digital transformation, compliance and anti money laundering, and finance and operations. Many staff have been with the firm for a decade or more. The careers material mentions flexitime, health and dental cover and quarterly team events.

Financial education is a theme. Jesmond Mizzi appears regularly on Maltese television and radio, and the firm produces daily and weekly reports on the local market, quarterly reviews of global markets and webcasts such as the Flusek programme on NET TV. It also supports the arts, sport and charities including the Community Chest Fund and the Malta Hospice Movement.

Offices and getting in touch

The registered address is Level 3 of the Central Business Hub on Mdina Road in Attard, a short drive from Valletta and the airport. The firm also refers to offices in Valletta, Ħamrun, Birkirkara and Ta' Xbiex. If you are visiting the capital for a meeting, our Valletta guide and our pick of hotels in Valletta will help you plan the trip, and our page about Malta gives a quick picture of island life.

Fees are set out in a schedule on the firm's own website rather than here, and every portfolio starts with a conversation about your goals. The simplest first step is a short note saying what you would like help with, whether that is investment advice, a managed portfolio, a pension or savings plan, or corporate finance. Send it through the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will forward it to the Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors team, who will reply to you directly.