NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Aug. 22, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- PIMCO, the country's largest mortgage investor, announced today that its GNMA fund, one of the top-ranked such funds in the nation, will for the first time, be made available to individual investors through retail distribution outlets.
PIMCO's GNMA Fund is made up of high-quality instruments, with an average rating of AAA. The fund invests at least 65 percent of its assets in a diversified portfolio of securities of varying maturities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), whose principal is guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
"GNMA Mortgages have become extremely popular with investors seeking the safety of fixed income investments because they offer a more attractive return than treasuries with little additional risk," said Scott Mather, PIMCO executive vice president and portfolio manager since inception of the GNMA Fund.
As of July 31, 2001, the institutional class shares of the GNMA Fund generated returns after fees of 15.85 percent for the past 12 months and 8.67 percent (average annual return) for the past three years. The fund outperformed the Lehman GNMA Index, a benchmark for the fund, for both periods. Annualized performance since inception has been 8.55 percent.
Until now, PIMCO's GNMA FUND has only been available to institutional clientele. Offering A, B, C, and D share classes on the retail level will allow PIMCO to expand its customer base for the popular GNMA fund.
"The consistent, successful management style of PIMCO's portfolio management team has set the firm apart from other money managers," said Brent R. Harris, PIMCO Funds Chairman and PIMCO Managing Director. "Their focus on new and important investment classes and our demonstrated expertise in the area will serve our investors well."
"Since its inception in early 1997, aided by PIMCO Funds' expanding retail and remarketing distribution channels, the GNMA Fund has begun to achieve acceptance among U.S. investors," Harris said. The Fund has achieved an overall five-star rating from Morningstar, in the short-term bond category as of June 30, 2001.
Data and Disclosures
With more than $220 billion in fixed income assets under management, PIMCO is one of the world's leading fixed income fund management companies. Founded in 1971 and based in Newport Beach, Calif., the company is majority owned by Munich-based Allianz Group, a leading global insurance company with nearly $670 billion in assets and represented in 70 countries around the globe. In addition, PIMCO manages a family of 64 stock and bond mutual funds available to both retail and institutional investors.
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.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that Fund shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Returns are net of fees and expenses and include reinvestment of dividends, income and capital gains, if any. The one-year performance of the fund as of June 30, 2001, was 13.97% and the inception performance is 8.09%, net of fees. The inception date of the fund was July 31, 1997. The Lehman GNMA Index is an unmanaged index covering mortgage-backed pass-through securities of the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA). Credit quality of the investments in the portfolio does not apply to the stability or safety of the Fund. Call or write for a current PIMCO Funds prospectus containing more complete information, including management fees and expenses. Please read it carefully before you invest or send money. PIMCO Funds Distributors LLC, member NASD -- 2187 Atlantic Street, Stamford, CT 06902, (800) 927-4648.
GNMA's government guarantee is to the timely repayment of principal and interest of a mutual fund's portfolio securities and not to the shares of the mutual fund, which will fluctuate in value. Mortgage backed securities value may be sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates. When they rise, the value generally declines. There is no assurance that the private guarantors or insurers will meet their obligations. There can be no guarantee that these investment strategies will work under all market conditions.
Prior to the third quarter of 2000, the PIMCO GNMA Fund was known as the PIMCO Low Duration Mortgage Fund. The benchmark for this fund prior to the name change was the Merril 1-3.
This Fund concentrates on investments in mortgage securities, which may entail greater risk than a fully diversified fund. The Fund may invest in U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers, securities with less than AAA ratings but not lower than BBB ratings and derivative instruments.
Past rankings are no guarantee of future rankings.
Morningstar proprietary ratings reflect historical risk-adjusted performance, are subject to change monthly and are calculated from the fund's 3-year average annual returns as of June 30, 2001. The ratings are inclusive of appropriate sales charge adjustment and a risk factor that reflects a fund's performance below 3-month Treasury bill returns. Ratings are based on the institutional class shares. Other share classes may vary. The top 10% of the funds in an investment category receive 5 stars and the next 22.5% receive 4-star ratings. There were 1,809 funds rated in the short-term bond category for the 3-year period ended June 30, 2001. The 3-year Morningstar rating for the fund was 5 stars. The since inception Morningstar rating was also 5 stars.