PIMCO Australia’s assets under management (AUM) climbed in the June 2009 quarter on the back of increased flows and additional mandates.
The flows largely went into its domestic and global credit strategies. The company had $23.96 billion in AUM at the end of June 2009, up 8.1 per cent from $22.2 billion at the end of March.
Clients are pumping cash into high quality credit due to the compelling investment opportunities presented by the elevated spread levels on many securities, PIMCO Australia associate Matthew McLenaghan said.
The firm has also been on a hiring spree on the back of demand for its products.
“Recognising the increased attractiveness of corporate credit, albeit with increased risks, we have been adding to our team of analysts and portfolio managers over the past year at a time when other organisations have been cutting resources,” McLenaghan said.
The hires have been made in the firm’s global offices.
PIMCO’s EQT-PIMCO Wholesale Global Credit Fund secured listings on the Avanteos platform, Macquarie Wrap and Goldman Sachs JBWere’s Portfolio Advantage. The fund managed $610 million as at the end of July, up from $586 million as at 30 June.
The firm’s new EQT-PIMCO Wholesale Australian Focus Fund has garnered significant inflows since its launch in February, with the overall fund size surpassing $50 million.
The simple structure, high credit quality and attractive yield is proving popular with financial planners, McLenaghan said.
The product has so far been added to BT Investment Wrap. The fund invests in securities including government guaranteed bank paper, non-guaranteed senior bank debt and lower tier 2 of the Australian majors, AAA-rated residential mortgage-backed securities and select Australian corporate issues/issuers.
Globally, PIMCO was managing $1.04 trillion (US$842 billion) in AUM at the end of June.
