KPMG ENTERS THE MARKET WITH A FUND INVESTING IN DATA AND ANALYTICS BUSINESSES.
KPMG, the giant professional services company, will on Monday launch its first investment fund as it branches out into other areas in a sign of the big changes afoot in the financial services industry.
The move is significant as the fund will invest in data and analytics businesses, which are increasingly popular with investors as technology is considered a growth area that should benefit from economic recovery.
The group, one of the big four professional services companies employing 152,000 people around the world in 156 countries and with combined revenues of $23bn, is creating KPMG Capital, a new wholly owned fund.
Mark Toon, chief executive of the new fund, said: “With more data produced and stored in the last two years than in the rest of human history, many businesses are looking for strategic and practical solutions to manage the volume, velocity and variety of this data revolution.”
KPMG, which is a tax, auditing and advisory firm, has decided to diversify to use its expertise around the world to build a business in data and analytics. The fund, which could be the first of many, will launch with about $100m.
It will invest primarily in data and analytics businesses through strategic acquisitions, technology partnerships and other data and analytics capabilities.
The move follows last month’s announcement by Deloitte, another of the big four professional services firms, that it is buying Seattle-based social media marketing agency Banyan Branch for an undisclosed sum.
Deloitte’s acquisition is another example of how these big groups are looking to take advantage of the rapid changes in technology, social media and data provision.
The KPMG fund will have its headquarters in London and invest globally. It aims to invest in a number of critical business areas including enhancing business flexibility; finance; risk, regulation and compliance; improving workforce productivity; and customer and revenue growth.
The new fund will also co-invest, sponsor and partner other groups at early stages with the aim to encourage entrepreneurs to be bold, focusing on growth sectors such as healthcare, financial services, energy and telecommunications.
Separately, KPMG/Markit launched its first report on technology last month. This report will be produced quarterly, analysing UK tech clusters and tracking the sector’s outlook for employment and growth.
The new fund will not be open to third-party investment.
