2 Sep 2010
KPMG has announced the appointment of Dr James Dimech DeBono as an Associate Partner in its financial risk management practice.
At KPMG, Dimech will be responsible for setting up a team to focus on supporting investment managers, funds and other financial institutions in the preparation of valuations of their portfolios. The team will comprise quantitative finance and valuation professionals with advanced degrees in quantitative disciplines and significant practical experience in the analysis and valuation of portfolios of “hard-to-value” and illiquid securities.
Dimech, who has both a PhD in quantitative financial economics and an MBA from Henley Management College, trained as an accountant and has nineteen years advisory experience.
He joins KPMG from Duff & Phelps, where he was Managing Director for four and a half years, leading the International Financial Engineering practice. He built up this practice from scratch, providing financial services clients with assurance and regular valuation services.
In this role, Dimech led a team to provide assistance to the European Commission, Director General – Competition, in the assessment of applications made by Member States on behalf of financial institutions with regard to the EU Asset Relief Programme. He also provided expert valuation advice to the Commission with regard to the portfolios of complex assets, including asset-backed securities, corporate and leveraged loans and derivatives, held by the European troubled banks. Prior to this, Dimech was at Ernst & Young for eleven years in London and New York.
At KPMG, Dimech will be responsible for setting up a team to focus on supporting investment managers, funds and other financial institutions in the preparation of valuations of their portfolios. The team will comprise quantitative finance and valuation professionals with advanced degrees in quantitative disciplines and significant practical experience in the analysis and valuation of portfolios of “hard-to-value” and illiquid securities.
Dimech, who has both a PhD in quantitative financial economics and an MBA from Henley Management College, trained as an accountant and has nineteen years advisory experience.
He joins KPMG from Duff & Phelps, where he was Managing Director for four and a half years, leading the International Financial Engineering practice. He built up this practice from scratch, providing financial services clients with assurance and regular valuation services.
In this role, Dimech led a team to provide assistance to the European Commission, Director General – Competition, in the assessment of applications made by Member States on behalf of financial institutions with regard to the EU Asset Relief Programme. He also provided expert valuation advice to the Commission with regard to the portfolios of complex assets, including asset-backed securities, corporate and leveraged loans and derivatives, held by the European troubled banks. Prior to this, Dimech was at Ernst & Young for eleven years in London and New York.
Tom Brown, Head of Investment Management at KPMG, said: “I am delighted to welcome James to KPMG. With his extensive consulting experience and in-depth knowledge of advising clients on their valuations, he is an important addition to our expanding team.
“We are aiming to establish KPMG as the premier valuation adviser in financial services – particularly as the demand for more transparency and the robustness in valuation is increasing. The added scrutiny by regulators and investors alike compounded by the issues around complexity and illiquidity, affect the investment industry globally. In other words, whether dealing with hedge funds, funds of funds, asset managers, sovereign wealth funds or administrators the valuation problem remains top of their agenda.”
