Dr Trino-Manuel Niguez
Dr Trino-Manuel Ñíguez Grau is Reader in Economics at Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). His academic career spans leading institutions in Spain, Denmark, the UK, and the United States, with expertise in financial econometrics, international economics, and applied econometrics.
Dr Ñíguez Grau holds a BSc (Hons) in Economics and an MSc in Quantitative Economics from the University of Alicante, where he also completed his PhD in Economics with Cum Laude distinction. His international academic development includes study at the University of Copenhagen (Erasmus) and a research appointment at the London School of Economics. He has held visiting academic positions at the Bank of Spain, New York University, and the University of Alicante.
His research focuses on the modelling and measurement of financial risk, with recent publications in high-impact journals such as the Journal of Financial Econometrics, the Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance or the Journal of Banking and Finance. Dr Ñíguez Grau is particularly interested in the application of econometric theory to real-world financial and policy challenges, and regularly collaborates on interdisciplinary projects with social and economic impact.
At Westminster, Dr Ñíguez Grau led the PhD Programme at Westminster Business School, overseeing the academic development, supervision, and progression of doctoral researchers. He also played a central role in teaching innovation, leading curriculum reforms in econometrics and international economics that integrate applied learning, authentic assessment, and inclusive pedagogy. He has been instrumental in establishing initiatives such as the PhD Garden Room to foster a supportive and collaborative research environment.
Alongside his academic work, Dr Ñíguez Grau is also a trained clarinettist. He holds a teaching degree in clarinet performance from the Superior Conservatory of Music "Óscar Esplá" in Alicante and previously worked for the Spanish government as a professional musician.
Education
2004 PhD in Economics (Cum Laude), University of Alicante
2003-04 Visiting research scholar, London School of Economics
1999 MSc in Quantitative Economics, University of Alicante
1999 Erasmus student, University of Copenhagen
1997 BSc (Hons) in Economics, University of Alicante
Awards
2024 Postgraduate Course Leader Award, WBS
2024 Certificate for Authentic Learning Module of the Year, WBS
2022 Nominated for the Westminster Learning and Teaching Awards
2017 Students' Union Staff Appreciation Award, University of Westminster
2012 Students' Union Award for Outstanding Teacher, University of Westminster
2004 International Doctor Mention
Dr Ñíguez Grau is a specialist in financial econometrics, with a research portfolio that addresses key challenges in forecasting, portfolio allocation, and the statistical modelling of financial risk. His work is grounded in rigorous quantitative methods and often intersects with real-world applications in financial markets and macroeconomic policy.
His research has been published in numerous high-impact journals, including the Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Financial Econometrics, Finance Research Letters, Quantitative Finance, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Economics Letters, International Journal of Forecasting, European Journal of Finance, Journal of Empirical Finance, Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, and the North American Journal of Economics and Finance, among others. These contributions reflect his sustained engagement with the international academic community and his commitment to producing research with theoretical depth and practical relevance.
Dr Ñíguez Grau is currently advancing two main research streams. The first examines the role of higher-order statistical moments (such as skewness and kurtosis) and risk preferences in optimal portfolio choice, particularly in uncertain economic environments. This work aims to enhance the predictive power and realism of asset allocation models. The second explores multivariate semi-nonparametric density functions as a tractable framework for modelling conditional volatility, asymmetric correlations, skewness, and fat tails in large-scale asset return distributions—a promising direction for improving risk assessment in financial econometrics.
His research has received recognition for both its methodological contributions and its practical implications for forecasting, policy design, and financial decision-making under uncertainty.