James Abbott Email & Phone Number

Diligence Capital Management (DCM) was officially formed in the spring of 2024. The initial fund, Diligence Performance Financials Fund I, LP, will have two distinct strategies that will compliment each other. First, a "core" fund that will invest in generally liquid investments within the financial services space. With more than 350 financial stocks from which to pick, DCM will seek to invest in the companies with a risk-reward profile that is expected to result in "alpha." Unique to DCM, the founders have a background in helping to manage publicly-traded companies in addition to having developed expertise in the capital markets (sell-side and buy-side); this background will assist in helping select the cream of the crop.Secondly, DCM expects to devote just under half of the fund's AUM to a strategy we've coined as "E&A" or Engagement and Activism. With more than 50% of AUM in the U.S. sitting in passive index funds, the long-time pressure of investors on boards and management teams has subsided. Like all bell curves, there are fantastic boards and management teams, while there are others that could use a great deal of support and assistance in achieving acceptable and top-notch returns and revenue growth. DCM expects to look for financial companies that have "great bones" but need a lot of work to drive the profitability to a level that is satisfactory. DCM has a network of current and former financial services executives that are ready to provide that support. Although collaborative engagement is generally the preferred solution, DCM has the resources and experience to pivot to a more hostile activist approach in order to achieve the acceptable results, both for existing shareholders of the targeted companies as well as the partners of DCM.

Salt Lake City, Utah, Us

James served as the Director of Investor Relations and External Communications for Zions Bancorporation. Each year, James was consistently ranked among the top-ranked Investor Relations Officers for U.S. regional banks as published in Institutional Investor. During his tenure, Zions' investor days were consistently ranked as the top investor day of the regional bank peer group. James was a voting member of Zions' Asset/Liability Committee, the Capital Management Committee, Social Media Council (founder and chair), and Reputational Risk (a council - voting member). Additionally, James was a contributing member of various other committees and councils of Zions including the Problem Loan Review (a council) and Allowance For Credit Loss Committee.James oversaw annually more than 300 visits with institutional investors in approximately 20-25 cities in North America and Europe. James was an integral part of the team that produces Zions' financial reports (earnings release, 10-Qs, Ks, Proxy, annual report, and update slide presentations). The awards from Institutional Investor reflect, among other things, James' dedication to ensuring investors have all the relevant information to make a decision about whether to invest in Zions. In addition, James' responsibilities included updating management and the board about emerging investor concerns; updating the rating agencies (Moody's, S&P, Fitch, Kroll, etc.) about the status of the company; being part of the team involved in issuing common and preferred equity and debt; being responsible for the reputational risk elements of the company; and overseeing all external communications with media and social media.

Arlington, Va, Us

James covered more than 100 banks during eight years, including a focus on asian niche banks, New York financial institutions, western banks in California and Washington, as well as many other banks in various other states. James was consistently ranked best thrift/mortgage finance earnings estimator from 2005-2008; James' stock-picking skills generated an annual five percentage points of "alpha," and James was a consistent winner of SNL's top stock pickers in its annual contest.

Education record

Education record