Pacific Investment Management Co., the world's largest bond-fund
manager, plans to significantly expand its lineup of active
exchange-traded funds by offering 19 new active ETFs, including
versions of its existing mutual funds.
The firm, which has nearly $2 trillion under management and has
said it is seeking to diversify its offerings, plans to offer ETF
versions of its Pimco Income, Pimco Unconstrained Bond, Pimco
Municipal Bond and some of its StocksPlus and IndexPlus funds,
according to a filing it made with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on Jan. 24
"We believe actively managed ETFs provide another way for
investors to access Pimco global strategies across fixed income,
equities and commodities, all backed by the firm's time-tested
investment process," a spokeswoman for the firm said Monday.
The new funds, which will more than triple the firm's current
active ETF lineup, come not long after Pimco Chief Investment
Officer Bill Gross said that he wants to escalate the firm's
efforts to boost its exposure to stocks.
Pimco announced last week that Chief Executive Mohamed El-Erian
will step down. Investors, including some financial advisers, have
pulled billions of dollars in client money from the firm's flagship
Pimco Total Return fund, which experienced its biggest loss in more
than a decade in 2013. The losses were due to a misjudgment on the
timing of the Federal Reserve's plans to cut back on its bond
purchases and sagging bond markets.
The $29.9 billion Pimco Income fund, which is managed by Daniel
Ivascyn, has gained an annualized 14.2% in the five years through
Jan. 24, outpacing the average fund among its peers by nearly 2.7%
annually in the period, according to Morningstar.
The $26.8 billion Unconstrained Bond fund, which is managed by
Mr. Gross, has gained an annualized 4.7% in the five years through
Jan. 24, lagging the average fund among its peers by nearly 2.2% in
the period, according to Morningstar. Mr. Gross took the helm of
the fund as manager Chris Dialynas plans a sabbatical beginning in
the second quarter of this year.
Write to Daisy Maxey at daisy.maxey@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires