Jeremy Rothfield
Career Summary
Jeremy is an accomplished economist who specialises in the analysis of the return on debt, the return on equity, and the valuation of imputation credits. He has a keen interest in debt markets, fixed income assets, infrastructure and utilities. He is currently acting as a consultant on infrastructure issues. In his immediately preceding role as the Manager of Regulatory Economics and Finance at United Energy and Multinet Gas (UE and MG), he spearheaded major changes to the assessment of the rate of return in regulated energy network industries in Australia. Improvements in the return on capital have the potential to boost the regulated revenues for UE by up to $100 million per annum.
He was responsible for an ongoing project which was run in conjunction with other industry participants. He adroitly brought together academic experts, consultants and industry practitioners in order to improve the quality of work that was being done across electricity and gas distribution businesses, while also harnessing his own technical expertise. The evaluations that were subsequently undertaken were more empirically based, and had better linkages to financial markets. The result was therefore more robust submissions to put to the Australian Energy Regulator, and stronger arguments to be advanced before the Australian Competition Tribunal. The precedents that were set in the energy sector also had an impact on other industries such as rail, water and grain handling.
Jeremy has acquired expertise in analysing interest rate derivatives and asset swaps. He has applied empirical methods to estimate zero-coupon curves, using data on government bonds, and yield curves which make use of corporate bond data. More generally, he has a strong background in energy market research, having developed models for the pricing of electricity and gas distribution services while at UE and MG. Formerly, as a consultant in economic advisory firms, he provided advice to superannuation funds and other clients about direct equity investments in infrastructure assets. Jeremy achieved successful outcomes from projects by remaining client-focused and attentive to the needs of key stakeholders.
TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERTISE:
Jeremy delivers authoritative advice, underpinned by rigorous analysis, to executive management, lawyers, and other affected parties. He has a sound grasp of regulatory frameworks in the energy and water industries.
- Jeremy has significant expertise in the use of economic cost-benefit analysis.
- He is well versed in the application of quantitative methods, including financial modelling, econometrics, and time series macro-economic modelling.
- He is proficient with Excel, can write macros using Visual Basic, and is competent with Access. He is also an experienced user of the Bloomberg information system, including the application programming interface (API).
- Programming skills using R and R-studio software, and time series processor for econometrics (TSP).
- He is familiar with emerging climate change issues and has an interest in non-market valuation techniques which can be used in environmental applications more generally.
- Jeremy is comfortable dealing with large datasets, and, in the context of his PhD thesis, managed a database comprised of nearly one million property transaction records. He used Microsoft Access to perform data management tasks, and Excel for most front-end data processing.
TERTIARY EDUCATION:
| Monash University, Australia, 2003 – 2008 | Awarded a PhD in Economic Modelling, following the successful completion of course work, and the submission of a thesis. The thesis topic was: The economic impact of a national programme to place electricity distribution infrastructure underground. |
| University of Essex, U.K., 1993 – 1995 | Awarded an M.A. in Economics with Distinction. During his studies, Jeremy was the recipient of an award from the European Social Fund. A dissertation was prepared and submitted covering the topic of rural to urban migration in developing countries. |
| University of Bristol, U.K., 1990-1993 | Awarded a B.Sc. in Economics and Accounting, with First Class Honours. |
KEY COMPETENCIES:
Excellent research, conceptual and analytical skills.Jeremy’s strong technical skills have often been applied in the demanding context of a consultancy contract. He has acquired a reputation for being thorough and comprehensive in his work, and for paying meticulous attention to detail.
In the past, a high proportion of Jeremy’s clients were government or quasi-government, and he participated indirectly in the policy formulation process. His PhD research was concerned with the underground placement of electricity distribution assets, and policy inferences could certainly be drawn from the results. The assignment included an analysis of the implications of alternative methods of government financing for the underground cabling project.
High level of judgement, creativity and innovation, when identifying, analysing and resolving complex policy issues.In his consulting background, Jeremy worked across a wide range of industry sectors, and on a broad array of topics.
His PhD thesis was innovative because it combined both general equilibrium (GE) model and econometrically-based approaches. The time series approach which he used for hedonic pricing was pioneering, at least in an Australian context. Subsequently, at WorleyParsons, Jeremy applied novel techniques when quantifying externalities for sustainability assessments. For instance, he constructed a financial model to estimate the costs to landholders of salinity in the presence and in the absence of Mallee tree plantations.
The work that Jeremy has done in the agricultural and health care sectors provides evidence of his ability to traverse diverse and evolving subject matter.
Knowledge of corporate finance and experience in interactions with treasury managers.Jeremy worked closely with senior colleagues in the treasury and finance team at United Energy and Multinet Gas. He advised finance team members about the implementation of the broader regulatory control framework, for instance in relation to matters such as revenue caps and the amendments to the post-tax revenue model (PTRM). However, he was also able to draw on actual practice to inform regulatory strategy. As a result of the mutually beneficial interaction, Jeremy became familiar with:
- Interest rate derivatives, and the use of other methods for attenuating base rate risk.
- The use of bond issuance templates prepared, alternately, by Bloomberg and by financial institutions.
- The appropriate method for recording the yield on a debt instrument when a forward-starting swap has been applied. This also formed the basis of a submission to the Australian Energy Regulator.
- Measuring the break-even rate on a forward starting swap. Estimating the up-front fees.
- Debt strategies, such as the staggering of debt issuance, and the duration matching of assets and liabilities.
- Methods for recording the holding period returns to debt securities.
Consequently, Jeremy prepared board papers and presentations jointly with the treasury team on topics such as the hedging strategies to be applied during the transition to a full trailing average method for assessing the rate of return on debt. These presentations were delivered to the board of directors. The residual risks from inflation and from credit spreads that could not be hedged or treated were identified.