NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Feb. 7, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- PIMCO, one of the world's leading fixed-income fund-management companies, today announced that it has hired three top experts to contribute to its global strategies and portfolios.
-- Richard Clarida, assistant U.S. Treasury secretary in the
Bush administration from 2001-03 and former chair of the
Columbia University economics department, joins PIMCO as
executive vice president and global strategic advisor based
in New York City.
-- Andrew Balls joins PIMCO in June from The Financial Times,
where he is chief U.S. economics correspondent, to become a
senior vice president and a global strategist in PIMCO's
Newport Beach office. Balls has also worked as a financial
consultant to several organizations, including the World
Bank.
-- Edward Devlin joins PIMCO from Lehman Brothers' London
office, where he developed products to capitalize on global
relative value in the credit markets, to become a senior vice
president and portfolio manager based in Newport Beach.
"Our goal is to be 'The Authority on Bonds' and to this end we are committed to offering our clients and their advisors the best experts in the world's fixed-income markets," said Bill Thompson, PIMCO's Chief Executive Officer. "These new additions exemplify that commitment, and they are each high-quality hires that we know will offer outstanding results for our clients."
All three will report directly to Bill Powers, PIMCO Managing Director, senior portfolio manager and Investment Committee member.
"Richard and Andrew represent proven excellence and are highly respected in senior financial and policy-making circles," said Powers. "Each has a deep financial and macro-economics background, a high level of energy and they are ready to provide significant contributions for our clients. Edward also brings many years of success and will add immediate value to our Canadian portfolios."
Clarida, stepping into the role of global strategic advisor, will be responsible for providing original global macro economic analysis, investment ideas and research to the PIMCO Investment Committee, as well as synthesizing and communicating the same to our clients and prospects. Clarida will assist our portfolio managers and clients globally, particularly in Asia and Europe, and will also be available for conferences and media interviews.
As a global strategist, Balls will work closely with all members of the PIMCO Investment Committee and the Executive Office from the company's Newport Beach location. His primary responsibilities include contributing to the local core-product portfolio management teams worldwide and serving as the link between these and our global team in Newport Beach. In addition, Andrew will build relationships with key clients worldwide.
Devlin's portfolio management role will make him responsible for managing all Canadian fixed-income portfolios for institutional clients and mutual funds. In addition, he will provide input for the firm's overall portfolio strategy, support Canadian business development and offer information on changes in Canadian economy, politics, monetary policy development and bond market. Devlin will work out of PIMCO's Newport Beach headquarters.
Richard H. Clarida, Executive Vice President and Global Strategic Advisor
Clarida joins PIMCO from the Clinton Group Investment Advisors, where he worked as chief economic strategist. He will be based in New York City, where he will continue to teach at Columbia University as a professor of economics. Before joining the Clinton Group, Clarida was assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury for Economic Policy, reporting directly to the Treasury Secretary. His government work also includes a position as a senior staff economist for President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisors. Clarida holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana and master's and doctorate degrees in economics from Harvard University. "Richard brings a serious and new perspective to PIMCO on global macro-economics," said Powers. "He is a world-class economist with both market and policy experience. He will immediately affect PIMCO's perspective on the world and the world's perspective on PIMCO."
Andrew Balls, Senior Vice President and a Global Strategist
Balls held several positions at The Financial Times, most recently acting as its chief U.S. economics correspondent. He has also written for The Independent, The Guardian and the National Bureau of Economic Research, and has worked as a consultant to the World Bank, the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank. Prior to joining The Financial Times, Balls was a lecturer in economics at Keble College, Oxford University. He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University and a master's in public administration from Harvard University. "We expect Andrew to work his way up the PIMCO learning curve in a short time, and with his background, we anticipate that he will achieve a quick understanding of the global markets," said Powers. "We're confident he will succeed and add significant value for our clients."
Edward J. Devlin, Senior Vice President and Canadian Portfolio Manager
Devlin joins PIMCO as a member of its portfolio management team based in PIMCO's Newport Beach offices. He has extensive experience in global finance, having worked in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto, with several of the world's foremost financial management firms: Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch & Co., Goldman Sachs & Co. and Andersen Consulting. A Canadian and British citizen, Devlin received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario and a master's of business administration from Dartmouth College. "Ed is a first-rate trader with experience in the world's major financial centers in the United States, Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom," said Powers. "We anticipate that he will greatly enhance our global abilities, bringing deep understanding and perspective to our global strategy team."
About PIMCO
With more than $594 billion in fixed-income assets under management in the U.S., PIMCO is one of the world's leading fixed-income fund-management companies. Founded in 1971 and based in Newport Beach, California, the company is majority owned by Munich-based Allianz Group, a leading global insurance company with nearly $1 trillion in assets and represented in 70 countries around the globe.
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the performance of financial markets, the investment performance of PIMCO's sponsored investment products and separately managed accounts, general economic conditions, future acquisitions, competitive conditions and government regulations, including changes in tax laws. Readers should carefully consider such factors. Further, such forward-looking statements speak only on the date at which such statements are made. PIMCO undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.