Riccardo Scalia

Clessidra Capital Credit SGR is the private credit platform of Gruppo Clessidra, one of Italy's leading alternative asset managers. CPD II completed its first closing in March 2026 at over €100 million — with the European Investment Fund as cornerstone investor — targeting a final raise of €225 million. The fund provides flexible debt financing to Italian SMEs and mid-caps, primarily through senior and subordinated instruments with equity-like features.

Joined shortly after first closing. Supported the investment team in early-stage opportunity evaluation — initial screening, credit and financial analysis, and preparation of internal materials for investment committee discussions. Market mapping and comparable transaction analysis as required. Developed in parallel a Master's thesis on empirical drivers of risk premia in gold and silver markets.

BBVA's Corporate & Investment Banking division operates across 24 countries with a comprehensive platform spanning corporate lending, debt capital markets, and structured finance. The Milan office covers relationship management and loan syndication for large Italian and multinational corporates, with a strong presence in leveraged and investment-grade lending across southern Europe.

Supported the origination and structuring of bilateral and syndicated financing facilities (€50–€200M) for multinational clients across industrials, automotive, oil, and energy. Contributed to approximately ten transactions for corporates with combined revenues over €60 billion. Work covered financial analysis, covenant review, peer benchmarking, and due diligence. Platforms: Dealogic, Mergermarket, BBVA internal. Exposure to teams in Madrid and London.

Multi-country framework testing systematic duration timing and cross-market allocation across Japan, US, UK, and Germany. Signals derived from bond momentum and carry (10Y minus 1M yield spread), applied under simple volatility-scaled risk controls. Performance evaluated in yield-space P&L with an optional FX-hedged overlay. Full attribution by country, rate regime, and signal aggregation method.

Methodology draws on J.P. Morgan Investment Strategies No. 74. Built entirely in Excel with structured scenario and sensitivity layers.

End-to-end Python system for tracking a personal multi-asset portfolio. Implements a FIFO cost-basis engine, XIRR return computation, and real-time pricing via Yahoo Finance. Produces daily risk metrics (volatility, drawdown, Sharpe), equity-curve modelling, and category-level attribution. Fully automated HTML reports generated three times daily through GitHub Actions — no manual input required.

Full transaction model for a simulated cross-border M&A advisory mandate. Deliverables included a DCF, trading and transaction multiples analysis, and sensitivity tables — presented as a client-ready pitch deck. Ranked best project among 30 competing teams. Tools: Excel, Bloomberg, Mergermarket, Dealogic.

Equity valuation combining EV/EBITDA and P/E trading multiples with a Residual Earnings Model. Analysis covered capital structure, WACC derivation, revenue growth assumptions, and peer benchmarking across European luxury. Top-ranked presentation in class.

In-depth analysis of Banco Popular's 2017 resolution and subsequent acquisition by Santander — the first application of the BRRD framework in the Eurozone. Covered early warning signals, liquidity deterioration, SRB intervention mechanics, bail-in of equity and AT1 instruments, creditor hierarchy, and implications for European banking resolution policy. Final BSc thesis — 110 cum laude.

Core coursework: Asset Pricing, Business Valuation, Investment Banking, Risk Management, Financial Derivatives, Quantitative Methods for Finance, Corporate Governance.

Thesis: Empirical Drivers of Risk Premia in Gold and Silver Markets — econometric analysis of macroeconomic, monetary, and sentiment variables as predictors of precious metal risk premia. Supervisor: Prof. Morelli.

Six-month exchange semester. Coursework: Advanced Corporate Finance, Econometrics, Game Theory. Focus on applied quantitative methods, panel data analysis, and empirical finance. Opportunity to travel extensively across Europe during the period.

Core coursework: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Financial Accounting, Corporate Finance, Business Strategy, Statistics, Mathematical Methods for Economics.

Thesis: Banco Popular and the First Application of the BRRD Framework — analysis of the 2017 resolution mechanism, bail-in tools, and implications for European banking regulation.

Finance & Analysis — Advanced Excel (financial modelling, scenario analysis, DCF, sensitivity tables, risk metrics), Advanced PowerPoint (pitch decks, investment presentations), Bloomberg terminal, Dealogic, Mergermarket.

Programming — Elementary level. Python (Pandas, Matplotlib, NumPy, GitHub Actions), HTML / CSS / JavaScript, VS Code, Git / GitHub.

AI Tools — Regular use of Claude and ChatGPT for research, writing, and coding assistance. Comfortable integrating AI tools into analytical and development workflows.

A personal multi-asset portfolio managed as a structured exercise in capital allocation, risk monitoring, and macro thesis formulation. Hawk I is a fully automated Python analytics system: FIFO engine, XIRR, real-time pricing via YFinance, risk metrics (volatility, drawdown, Sharpe), equity-curve modelling, and daily HTML reporting via GitHub Actions.

Rotaract Club LUISS — Director and active member since 2022. Event organisation, community engagement, and club strategy. Experience coordinating working groups in a voluntary setting.

Academic projects — Active contributor across various group projects during the MSc, including valuation work and analytical presentations delivered to faculty panels.