NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Sept. 26, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- PIMCO announced today that its Japanese assets under management now exceed 1 trillion yen ($8.3 billion U.S.).
"We've been successful in Japan for the same reason we've been successful throughout the world -- we provide our clients with high-quality, innovative investment products," said Douglas M. Hodge, who recently took up residence in Tokyo as PIMCO's first Director of the Asia-Pacific region.
That message has been especially well-received in Japan, where a decade-long recession has depressed the value of domestic equity and real estate investments, and pushed interest rates to near zero. PIMCO, which opened its Japanese office in 1998, has seen its assets under management swell from 339 billion yen in December of 2000 to more than 1 trillion yen at the end of last month.
Makoto Takano, president of PIMCO-Japan, noted that the company has "achieved broad penetration into all the major markets in which we do business: Corporate and public pension plans; financial institutions such as banks and insurers; and investment trusts targeting both individual and institutional investors."
And PIMCO will continue to expand its offerings in Japan; Hodge also announced that the company plans to begin actively trading Japanese bonds in its Tokyo office. A senior international portfolio manager will move to that office in the fourth quarter of 2002, positioning PIMCO to offer domestic bond products.
Hodge said PIMCO is also preparing to offer its core bond product to Japanese institutional investors. The company recently launched a Japanese bond product targeted for institutional clients which follows their "total return" approach. The product, designed for local bond market investors, will add value by utilizing PIMCO's global investment experience and skills across a broad range of investment opportunities.
"These new initiatives represent not only an important new business opportunity for PIMCO, they also provide our Japanese clients with new investment prospects," said Hodge, a 13-year veteran of the company. "Thanks to innovations such as these, we believe our growth in this region has just begun -- not only in Japan, but throughout Asia -- which is why we're establishing an Asia/Pacific operations headquarters in Tokyo."
Added Bill Powers, PIMCO portfolio manager and Managing Director: "Our mission is to find the best fixed-income investments for our clients, anywhere in the world. Our expanded operation is just one of many efforts designed to serve all our clients worldwide, as well as supplement portfolios managed elsewhere with the best regional insight and investment ideas. Institutional, retail, and consultant-advised third-party business will be aggressively pursued and coordinated from these locations."
With more than $240 billion (as of June 30, 2002) in fixed-income assets under management in the United States and an additional $85 billion in insurance-based assets under management in Europe, 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 AG, a leading global insurance and financial services holding company with about $1 trillion in assets and represented in 70 countries around the globe.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The products and services described in this communication are available only where authorized. The Japanese bond product is only available to institutional investors in Japan and is not available to investors in the U.S.
The credit quality of an investment does not apply to the safety or stability of the investment. Each sector of the bond market entails some risk. Municipals may realize gains and may incur a tax liability from time to time. Treasuries & Government Bonds guarantee is to the timely repayment of interest and does not eliminate market risk, shares of the funds are not guaranteed. Mortgage-backed securities & Corporate Bonds may be sensitive to interest rates, when they rise the value generally declines and there is no assurance that private guarantors or insurers will meet their obligations. An investment in high-yield securities, lower-rated securities generally involves greater risk to principal than an investment in higher-rated bonds. Investing in foreign securities may entail risk due to foreign economic and political developments and may be enhanced when investing in emerging markets.
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.