NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Nov 21, 2014) - PIMCO Corporate & Income Opportunity Fund (
The Fund may invest up to 40% of its total assets in securities and instruments that are economically tied to emerging market countries (this limitation does not apply to investment grade sovereign debt denominated in the relevant country's local currency with less than 1 year remaining to maturity).
In addition, each Fund will adopt the following non-fundamental policy:
The Fund may invest without limitation in investment grade sovereign debt denominated in the relevant country's local currency with less than 1 year remaining to maturity, subject to applicable law and any other restrictions described in the Fund's prospectus, Statement of Information or shareholder reports in effect from time to time.
RCS will also rescind (i) its current non-fundamental policy to invest not more than 10% of its total assets in Brady Bonds and (ii) its current non-fundamental policy to invest not more than 3% of its total assets in securities of issuers and instruments that are economically tied to South Africa.
The Boards of Trustees/Directors of the Funds approved the changes to the Funds' investment policies based on representations from PIMCO that the changes will be in the best interests of the Funds and their shareholders. Following the changes described above with respect to the Funds' policies regarding investments in securities and instruments that are economically tied to emerging market countries, PIMCO believes that each Fund will benefit from (i) being better able to diversify risk and take advantage of opportunities within emerging markets, and (ii) having greater flexibility to invest in short-maturity investment grade sovereign debt denominated in the relevant country's local currency, which PIMCO believes present attractive risk-reward opportunities.
With respect to the policy changes for RCS regarding investments in Brady Bonds and securities and instruments economically tied to South Africa, PIMCO believes that these changes will help to modernize RCS's investment policies. These policies were put in place at the Fund's launch in 1994 and reflected that, at that time, (i) Brady Bonds were generally rated below investment grade, had only recently been issued and had limited trading and payment history, making investments in Brady Bonds highly speculative, and (ii) South Africa was undergoing significant political upheaval in connection with the ending of apartheid. However, over the past twenty years, the market in Brady Bonds has developed substantially, and an active over-the-counter secondary market in Brady Bonds currently exists. In addition, the political situation in South Africa has stabilized considerably over that period. Accordingly, PIMCO no longer believes that these restrictions remain appropriate for RCS given the current market environment.
Risk Factors
Investments in emerging market countries pose a greater degree of risk (i.e., the risk of a cascading collapse of multiple institutions within a country, and even multiple national economies). Governments of emerging market countries may engage in confiscatory taxation or expropriation of income and/or assets to raise revenues or to pursue a domestic political agenda. There is also a greater risk that an emerging market government may take action that impedes or prevents a Fund from taking income and/or capital gains earned in the local currency and converting into U.S. dollars (i.e., "repatriating" local currency investments or profits). Other heightened risks associated with emerging market investments include without limitation: (i) risks due to less social, political and economic stability; (ii) the smaller size of the market for such securities and a lower volume of trading, resulting in a lack of liquidity and in price volatility; (iii) certain national policies which may restrict a Fund's investment opportunities; (iv) the lack of uniform accounting and auditing standards and/or standards that may be significantly different from the standards required in the United States; (v) less publicly available financial and other information regarding issuers; (vi) potential difficulties in enforcing contractual obligations; and (vii) higher rates of inflation, higher interest rates and other economic concerns.
Investments in debt obligations of foreign (non-U.S.) governments or their sub-divisions, agencies and government sponsored enterprises (together "Foreign Government Securities") can involve risk. The foreign governmental entity that controls the repayment of debt may not be able or willing to repay the principal and/or interest when due in accordance with the terms of such debt. In the event of a default by a governmental entity, there may be few or no effective legal remedies for collecting on such debt. These risks are heightened with respect to a Fund's investments in Foreign Government Securities of emerging market countries.
Brady Bonds involve various risk factors including residual risk and the history of defaults with respect to commercial bank loans by public and private entities of countries issuing Brady Bonds. There can be no assurance that Brady Bonds in which a Fund may invest will not be subject to restructuring arrangements or to requests for new credit, which may cause the Fund to suffer a loss of interest or principal on any of its holdings.
Each Fund's daily New York Stock Exchange closing market price for its common shares, net asset value per common share, as well as other information, including updated portfolio statistics and performance, are available at www.pimco.com/closedendfunds. The information on or accessible through www.pimco.com/closedendfunds is not incorporated by reference herein.
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 the investment manager of the Funds and is owned by Allianz S.E., a leading global diversified financial services provider.
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements. 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 statement.
This material contains the current opinions of the author and not necessarily PIMCO and such opinions are subject to change without notice. This material has been distributed for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission. PIMCO and YOUR GLOBAL INVESTMENT AUTHORITY are trademarks or registered trademarks of Allianz Asset Management of America L.P. and Pacific Investment Management Company LLC, respectively, in the United States and throughout the world. ©2014, PIMCO
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