James Penn has been appointed head of equity by Capital International Group.

James will be responsible for the group’s equity selection process, managing the company’s institutional accounts, and for leading the equity team.

It is the second time James has worked at CIG, having served six years there in the ’noughties’ when the company was still based in Castletown.

After starting out as a journalist, James requalified as an investment professional in the mid-1990s, initially as an assistant to the chief investment officer at Coutts. After three years there, he joined Singer & Friedlander for four years as a junior portfolio manager and analyst, covering the alcoholic beverage, leisure, and media sectors.

He then moved on to Capital International Group in 2003, where he spent six years as a portfolio manager and subsequently senior portfolio manager, years which included weathering the financial crisis of 2008. While there, he became the first person in the island to acquire the CFA [CharteredFinancial Analyst] charter, a qualification that prides itself on demanding the qualities of ethics, analysis, rigour and tenacity from those that sit the exams.

In 2010, James moved to Thomas Miller Investments as an institutional portfolio manager, where he managed several large portfolios, and worked on the company’s fixed interest and equity teams.

He went on to be appointed senior portfolio manager and deputy head of the equity team.

James is aiming to build a ’’winning team culture’’ at CIG based on solid security analysis, including modelling and primary research, as well as maintaining the company’s customer focus, and supporting the efficient delivery of investment performance through recently streamlined investment processes and systems.

James will be aiming to help grow Capital’s discretionary investment business over the next few years, as well as providing strong investment performance to the existing client base.

James has enjoyed re-familiarising himself with some old friends, as well as meeting many new faces given the company has grown substantially since he was last there in 2009.

He is also enjoying the ambience and greater space of the company’s headquarters in Circular Road, Douglas.

As well as holding the CFA Charter, James is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment [FCSI], and an associate of the Society of Investment Professionals [ASIP].

James said: ’I am very much looking forward to re-joining Capital International.

’I admire the company’s values of innovation, integrity and excellence, and am delighted to have the opportunity to play a key role in our journey ahead.’

Group chief investment officer David Long said: ’James brings extensive experience from his past career. I look forward to working with him on a number of ambitious plans in the years ahead.’

lDon’t miss the business pages in the Examiner next week for the return of James’s business view column.