|
 "Over the last five years, we have expanded into far more parts of
the fixed income market and into other asset classes and other
geographies, so the Pimco Total Return Fund does not define Pimco,"
Hodge said. "It's an important flagship product of this firm but it
is not our only strategy."
Hodge and Dan Ivascyn, who takes over for Gross at the Newport
Beach, California-based firm as group chief investment officer, told
Reuters in an interview that they have been speaking to clients all
weekend about the new leadership. Pimco is a unit of Munich-based
Allianz.
"With regard to our clients and the potential for outflows, again,
when there is any significant change, we are out communicating with
our clients and we are talking with them and we are explaining the
changes that are going on," Hodge said.
"The outflows that have happened – and that may happen – we stand by
our clients. We are managing assets and are confident that the vast
majority of clients will stand with us."
On Friday, Gross shocked the investment world by leaving his post as
chief investment officer to join mutual fund management firm Janus
Capital. The move followed record outflows from Pimco's flagship
portfolio and clashes with other top executives.
Bill Gross was not available for comment. Sue Gross, Bill's wife,
said on Sunday she and Bill were "doing good."
Gross's exit, eight months after his top deputy Mohamed El-Erian
quit amid acrimony, may quicken speculation in the bond market about
leadership uncertainties and accelerating outflow at the world's
largest bond firm.
Since the start of the year, investors have pulled $25 billion from
the Pimco Total Return Fund, the world's largest bond fund, and $6
billion from the Pimco Unconstrained Bond Fund, according to
Morningstar data as of the end of August.
Both were personally supervised by Gross, 70, who also oversaw the
Pimco Total Return ETF, the object of the SEC probe.
ALLIANZ HEADQUARTERS
El-Erian will be at Allianz headquarters in the coming week or so,
according to two people familiar with the situation, adding the
meeting had been planned several months ago and unrelated to Gross's
departure. El-Erian declined to comment.
[to top of second column] |
When asked if El-Erian could play a role at the firm in the future,
Hodge said on Sunday: "We made some very clear decisions about the
leadership of this firm with regard to Dan (Ivascyn) as our group
CIO and the team of investors and leaders we have in place."
Ivascyn, whose $50 billion Pimco Income fund is posting returns of
7.81 percent year-to-date as of August 31, easily surpassing the
4.81 percent on the benchmark Barclays Aggregate for the same time
period, won't be overseeing the Total Return Fund.
Mark Kiesel, Scott Mather and Mihir Worah will be portfolio managers
for the $222 billion Total Return fund, where Gross built his
reputation as the "Bond King."
"You will see a lot less self promotion," Mather said about the
post-Gross environment. "And you're going to see a lot more emphasis
on performance. It will be a lot more 'We' and a lot less 'I.'"
(Reporting by Jennifer Ablan, editing by John Pickering)
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