MILWAUKEE, Nov. 17 -- Perhaps the best-known analyst and proponent of the EMS sector on Wall Street is calling it quits. After 16 years of recommending stocks of contract assemblers, J. Keith Dunne is retiring at year-end to spend more time with his wife and young sons.

For the past three years Dunne has been a sell-side analyst with RBC Capital, an investment banking firm. He came to fame as a managing director of Robertson Stephens in the 1990s, a firm that fueled scores of high-tech companies and handled dozens of mergers and acquisitions. Robertson Stephens later collapsed and was sold.

Often cited by Wall Street publications for his accuracy, Dunne was in 2001 voted an Atomic Giant by PC FAB magazine (now PCD&M) in recognition of his influence on the industry.

In a statement today, Dunne said thanked the industry. "I immensely enjoyed watching the electronics manufacturing products and services industry take shape and am thankful for the opportunity I had to participate in its growth and development through strategic talks with many of you, and by educating investors on the investment merits of the EMPS industry."

Dunne gave a promising forecast for the future. "I believe the EMPS industry should continue to outperform the overall Nasdaq and a group of leading technology hardware companies for several more years.

Since Dunne initiated coverage in mid 1996:

• Quarterly sales have grown from $4 billion to $15.2 billion, a CAGR of 36%.
• Over 400 OEM asset divestitures and business acquisitions have been completed.
• Market capitalization has increased from $6.5 billion to $30.5 billion, a CAGR of 20% vs. 7% for the Nasdaq..

Amit Daryanani will take over Dunne's practice at RBC.

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