PIMCO CIO William H. Gross to Leave the Firm

NEWPORT BEACH, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 26, 2014) - PIMCO, a leading global investment management firm, announced that Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer ("CIO") William H. Gross, has resigned and will leave the firm, effective immediately. The firm has a succession plan in place and its Management Board, comprised of its Managing Directors, will confirm shortly the election of a new Chief Investment Officer. Relevant portfolio management assignments will also be announced at that time.

Said Mr. Hodge: "While we are grateful for everything Bill contributed to building our firm and delivering value to PIMCO's clients, over the course of this year it became increasingly clear that the firm's leadership and Bill have fundamental differences about how to take PIMCO forward."

Mr. Hodge continued: "As part of our responsibilities to our clients, employees and parent, PIMCO has been developing a succession plan for some time to ensure that the firm is well prepared to manage a seamless leadership transition in its Portfolio Management team. Earlier this year, the firm established a new portfolio management leadership structure that reflects our long-held belief that the best approach for PIMCO's clients and our firm is to evolve our investment leadership structure to a team of seasoned, highly skilled investors overseeing all areas of PIMCO's investment activities."

Said Michael Diekmann, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Group: "Since becoming part of the Allianz Group in 2000, PIMCO has grown enormously and contributed consistently to Allianz's success. We join our PIMCO colleagues in recognizing Bill Gross for his work over the 43 years since PIMCO's founding. The management and investment structure put in place in January as well as the thorough succession planning gives us complete confidence in PIMCO's investment and executive leadership team."

Mr. Hodge added: "We have built a deep bench of talent with extensive investment and leadership experience, including more than 240 portfolio managers globally, and our outstanding team around the world gives us the scale, talent, expertise and commitment to manage this transition. We will continue to add and promote talent at all levels to help us drive our firm forward. We are energized and fully focused on serving our clients today and into the future."

About PIMCO
PIMCO is a leading global investment management firm, with offices in 12 countries throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Founded in 1971, PIMCO offers a wide range of innovative solutions to help millions of investors worldwide meet their needs. Our goal is to provide attractive returns while maintaining a strong culture of risk management and long-term discipline. PIMCO is owned by Allianz S.E., a leading global diversified financial services provider.

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