Through an uncle who was a dentist and avid stock investor, Swieca was introduced to financial markets.
Now orphaned, Swieca turned to the stock market to pay for his education and that of his younger brother.
He used that time to travel and work abroad, and accept a job at Merrill Lynch — a position he found by knocking on the doors of investment banks throughout Manhattan.
After graduation, Swieca worked at Merrill Lynch, becoming one of the founding traders on the New York Futures Exchange where he traded equity index options.
[4] In 1992 Swieca started Highbridge Capital Management with childhood friend Glenn Dubin.
[5][6] As Highbridge CIO, he guided the firm through multiple market cycles as it achieved one of the best risk adjusted returns in the hedge fund industry.