PIMCO Changing BOND’s Name & Managers

Mar 08, 2017

Reviewed by: Trevor Hunnicutt

Edited by: Trevor Hunnicutt

New York (Reuters) – Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO) is replacing the full slate of managers on its PIMCO Total Return Active ETF (BOND), a spokeswoman for the fund management company said on Wednesday, marking the latest change for what was once the largest actively managed ETF.

The fund is also changing its name, from the PIMCO Total Return Active ETF to the PIMCO Active Bond ETF, regulatory filings showed. The ETF's ticker, BOND, will remain, a PIMCO spokeswoman said.

Once run by the company's co-founder Bill Gross, the ETF now has assets of $2 billion, down from $5.2 billion at its 2013 peak.

Managers Scott Mather, Mark Kiesel and Mihir Worah are being replaced by David Braun, Jerome Schneider and Daniel Hyman, a regulatory filing showed.

'The Right Mix'

The new managers bring "the right mix of expertise and experience in an evolving ETF investing environment where clients are seeking more income," in a low-rate and low-return investing environment, the spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

The changes are expected to take effect by May 8, pending regulatory approvals.

“While BOND was a strong asset gatherer in early days, it has shed assets in past year, while active fixed-income peers SPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF (TOTL) and Fidelity Total Bond (FBND) have pulled in new money in the past year,” said Todd Rosenbluth, director of ETF and mutual fund research at CFRA Research.

“While we think investors will likely wait to see what changes in the exposures, the move could restart asset growth,” he added.

Trevor Hunnicutt

Trevor Hunnicutt is a staff writer for Reuters.

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