NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Feb. 20, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- PIMCO, one of the world's premiere fixed-income asset managers, has received its second consecutive "Award for Investment Excellence" in the Global Bonds category from Global Investor magazine, a highly-regarded, U.K.-based financial publication.
Global Investor's award, which PIMCO also received in 1998 and 2000, results from a survey of investment consultants in North America, Europe and the Asia/Pacific region. Firms are nominated for excellence in investment performance, risk management and overall philosophy, among other criteria.
This announcement is the latest of several honors PIMCO has received from specialists who follow the performance of top asset managers:
Nine PIMCO bond funds, including four of the company's five municipal bond funds, outperformed all other mutual funds in their category during 2001, according to a report from the Lipper mutual fund rating service. Five other PIMCO funds were ranked the No. 1 performers over a five- and/or 10-year period. No other bond fund family had so many one-year performance award winners in 2001, Lipper said. The PIMCO Total Return fund (PTTRX), PIMCO's flagship, was the nation's best selling mutual fund, taking in approximately $8 billion during 2001, according to a new report from Financial Research, a Boston-based fund tracker. The fund, managed by PIMCO founder and Chief Investment Officer William S. Gross, now has total assets of about $50 billion. Overall, PIMCO was the nation's third most popular mutual fund family, trailing only Vanguard and American. Risk magazine, one of the most widely read trade publications among derivatives specialists, recently named PIMCO its "Risk Manager of the Year" in the asset-management category.
"We're delighted by this latest award from Global Investor -- and by all the other recognition we've received in recent weeks," said William S. Thompson, PIMCO Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. "These distinctions are a testimony to the hard work that goes on here every day, maximizing returns and managing risk on behalf of our clients."
The nine PIMCO funds with the best one-year performance, according to Lipper, included four municipal bond funds (California, California Intermediate (PCIMX), Municipal (PFMIX) and New York).
"A well-diversified portfolio of quality municipal bonds is an excellent choice for investors looking for high tax-adjusted yield and lower volatility than the equity market," said Mark V. McCray, Executive Vice President and PIMCO's muni portfolio manager. "For high-bracket taxpayers, high-quality munis offer a better reward-to-risk ratio than either equities or taxable fixed income."
Other one-year Lipper winners were: the Emerging Markets Fund (PEBIX), the Global Bond Fund II (PGBIX), the GNMA Fund (PDMIX), the Foreign Bond Fund (PFORX) and the Real Return Fund (PRRIX).
Lipper also noted that two funds -- PIMCO's Total Return and the Low Duration fund (PTLDX) -- produced the best performance among their peers when measured over a 10-year period. Two additional funds -- Moderate Duration (PMDRX) and Short-Term (PTSHX) -- were best in their category measured over five years. The Long Term Government Fund (PGOVX) was best in both the five- and 10-year categories.
The Risk magazine award, which cited PIMCO's "rigorous" system of analyzing various economic factors, will be officially conferred at the magazine's third annual award ceremony in New York on Feb. 28.
Founded in 1971 and based in Newport Beach, Calif., PIMCO has more than $241 billion in fixed-income assets under management in the United States and an additional $100 billion in insurance-based assets under management in Europe. 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.
Disclosures
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.
PIMCO was chosen as the 2001 Asset management risk manager of the year based on an in-depth evaluation done by the senior editors of Risk Magazine. PIMCO was awarded Global Investor Magazine award for Investment Excellence 1998, 2000 and 2001 based on an extensive evaluation by a panel of independent judges.
Investing in foreign securities involves risks including foreign currency fluctuations and political and economic uncertainties. Emerging market securities impose even greater risks.
Call or write for a current PIMCO Funds prospectus which includes information pertaining to expenses and risks. Please read it carefully before you invest or send money. Distributed by PIMCO Funds Distributors LLC, member NASD, 840 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660 (800) 927-4648.
Lipper Analytical Services ranked the following PIMCO Funds for the quarter ended 12/31/01. Rankings are based on changes in net asset value of the institutional share class versus other Funds in the stated category. Past rankings are no guarantee of future rankings.
Fund Lipper Category 1-yr 3-yr 5-yr 10-yr Muni Bond Fd General Muni Debt 1 of 273 8 of 229 n/a n/a CA Intm Muni CA Intm Muni Debt 1 of 31 n/a n/a n/a CA Muni Bond CA Muni Debt 1 of 107 n/a n/a n/a Short Dur Muni Short Muni Debt 26 of 39 n/a n/a n/a NY Muni Bond NY Muni Debt 1 of 104 n/a n/a n/a Emg Mkts Bnd Emerg Market Debt 1 of 51 4 of 49 n/a n/a Global Bond II Global Income Funds 1 of 88 4 of 78 n/a n/a GNMA Fund GNMA Funds 1 of 60 1 of 47 n/a n/a Forgn Bnd Fd Intl Income Funds 1 of 47 2 of 44 4 of 31 n/a Real Return Fd Intm U.S. Treasury 1 of 19 1 of 17 n/a n/a Total Return Intm Inv Grd Debt Fnd 23 of 325 11 of 231 3 of 151 1 of 43 Low Duration Short Invest Grd Debt 25 of 117 25 of 98 3 of 81 1 of 20 Mod Duration Short-Intm Inv Grd Debt 2 of 126 5 of 84 1 of 67 n/a Short-term Ultra-Short Oblig Fnd 17 of 35 3 of 26 1 of 18 2 of 6 Long-Term Gov Gen U.S. Govt Funds 122 of 158 45 of 138 1 of 117 1 of 47
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.