PIMCO adds to new Compliance Committee

Global investment management firm, PIMCO, has announced that it has internalised Responsible Entity (RE) function for its $10+ billion managed funds complex, making it one of the largest RE transitions in Australia's financial services history.

PIMCO has become RE for all 12 funds available to Australian investors. The firm has also established a statutory compliance committee for the governance of the Funds and appointed Penni James as one of three new independent members.

James has over 30 years' experience in risk and compliance and is currently a non executive director on the Colonial First State Investments board and a member and chair of a number of responsible entity compliance committees including BT Investment Management, State Street Global Advisors and Vinva Investment Management. She is also a member of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

She commenced her career in the audit division of KPMG and from 1991 had internal audit and compliance manager roles with Bankers Trust/BTFG for 7 years. Following that she was head of compliance for Deutsche Asset Management Australia from 1998 until 2006. Since then she has consulted in the financial services industry and held various non executive director and independent committee roles. In 2010 she founded Compliance & Risk Executive Women (previously called Women in Compliance - WinC) a networking forum for women in risk and compliance related roles in the financial services industry.

She is joined on the committee by former Equity Trustees CEO Robin Burns and experienced board member, Christine Feldmanis.