Leo J. Karwejna Joins PFM Group as Chief Compliance Officer

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The PFM Group, (www.pfm.com), a leading national provider of independent financial and investment advisory services to state and local governments and a top-performing manager of money market mutual funds for municipal entities, their agencies, and non-profit institutions, announced today that it has taken another major step in the company's ongoing growth with the addition of Leo J. Karwejna as a Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer.

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Mr. Karwejna's hiring is the result of an extensive national search for an executive of his caliber and experience, and reflects both PFM's robust growth and the firm's commitment to compliance excellence within the changing nature of the regulatory environment for financial services firms of all kinds.

"With PFM's focus on the public sector and our strict adherence to proper governance and fiduciary responsibility, we've always given high importance to compliance," explained PFM Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer Marty Margolis. "We are justifiably proud of PFM's exemplary record in this area, especially through the challenges other firms have faced over the last several years," he continued.  "As PFM continues to grow, we have taken this step to move our regulatory compliance efforts to the next level. A robust compliance function is important to us as a firm, and equally so to our clients who put their faith and confidence in us."

Leo Karwejna comes to PFM from Prudential Real Estate Investors (PREI), a subsidiary of Prudential Financial, where he was Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer responsible for global regulatory programs as well as for leading efforts to develop compliance policies and procedures that would effectively manage risks for PREI's institutional and public clients.  PREI had gross assets under management of $44.8 billion at Sept. 30, 2010. Prior to joining Prudential in 2008, Leo was a Vice President with Deutsche Asset Management, where he was responsible for the establishment of oversight, review and monitoring to ensure compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and corporate policies. From 1998-2006, he was with Rittenhouse Trust and Haverford Financial Services in several roles, serving as Chief Compliance Officer for four years and Chief Operating Officer for three. Beginning as an equity/fixed income securities trader when he joined Rittenhouse Trust, Leo grew into a compliance role and was tasked with building the firm's compliance function.

"I am very pleased to be joining an organization with the national reputation for integrity and independence that PFM has built over the last thirty-five years," Karwejna said.  "The company's growth since its founding has been phenomenal," he added. "In today's regulatory environment, it is essential for an organization to maintain and enhance its compliance efforts across all areas of endeavor," Karwejna noted, "and I eagerly look forward to being a part of PFM's expansion going forward and helping to enable the continuation of that growth and success for the benefit of PFM clients and stakeholders."

Leo Karwejna currently resides in Hamilton, NJ with his wife Liz and two young children. He will be based in PFM's Harrisburg, PA office. Karwejna is a graduate of St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia with a degree in Finance, and holds his J.D. from the Temple University School of Law. He is a member of the National Society of Compliance Professionals as well as the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's Compliance and Legal Society. He also serves as an arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) helping to resolve issues related to public and industry matters.

The PFM Group of companies includes Public Financial Management, Inc., one of the top-ranked financial advisory firms in the nation, providing independent financial advisory services to a broad base of  local, state, and regional government and non-profit clients throughout the United States. The firm is well-respected for providing those clients with independent advisory services free of conflicts in their dealings with the capital markets in the fields of Higher Education, Public Power, Transportation, Healthcare, Strategic Consulting and Pension Management, among others. Since its founding in 1974, PFM has been involved in financing programs totaling in excess of $435 billion, and for the first nine months of 2010, PFM advised clients on $38.9 billion of total debt issuances in 705 separate transactions.  In addition, at September 30, 2010, PFM Asset Management LLC, a part of the PFM Group, had $36.5 billion in assets under management for state and local governments and non-profit institutions, and provided non-discretionary advice for an additional $2.3 billion in fixed income securities. PFM also provides best practices and pension advisory consulting services. The PFM Group currently employs more than 430 individuals serving a broad base of clients from 34 offices located in every region of the country.

SOURCE The PFM Group