MutualFundWire.com: Pimco Mints an Active ETF
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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Pimco Mints an Active ETF


Pimco continues to delve deeper into ETF territory with the launch of its first actively managed ETF, the Pimco Enhanced Short Maturity Strategy Fund ('MINT') on Tuesday.

The fund -- which will be managed by Jerome Schneider, executive vice president and deputy of the firm's money market desk -- is offered at 35 basis points and has a single share class structure with the same expense ratio for all investors, regardless of size.

Designed to be a higher yielding alternative to money market funds, MINT will focus on short duration investment grade debt securities and may also be appropriate for non-immediate cash allocations. According to a statement from Pimco, the fund aims to fulfill a need for suitable cash investments triggered by the post-crisis market environment.

“Investors are holding a lot of cash, and are compelled to look for something beyond the near-zero yields that money market funds offer,” Schneider stated. “MINT aims to maximize investors' current income by accessing Pimco's discipline, risk management and market expertise within a highly liquid and transparent ETF.”

MINT is the latest addition to the Pimco ETF family, which welcomed a 3-7 year U.S. Treasury Index Fund and a 25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury Index Fund back in early November 2009.


Company Press Release

PIMCO Launches Enhanced Short Maturity Strategy Fund, an Actively Managed ETF

‘MINT’ Accesses PIMCO’s Investment Process, Aiming to Help Cash Investors Earn Better Yields

NEWPORT BEACH, CA (November 17, 2009)—PIMCO, a leading global investment management firm, has launched the PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Strategy Fund (NYSE: MINT), an actively managed Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that employs the firm’s proven investment process and cash management expertise. The new fund aims to preserve capital while also looking to offer more attractive yields than investors earn from money market funds. MINT will be managed by PIMCO Executive Vice President Jerome Schneider, deputy head of the firm’s money market desk.

The post-crisis market environment has increased the need for suitable cash investments, as many individuals, corporations, pensions and other institutions are insisting on stringent risk controls and ready access to their cash – yet paying the price in the form of money market returns that hover near zero. MINT may invest in similar high quality short-term instruments as money markets, as well as longer maturity bonds and a broader universe of investment-grade fixed income securities. This strategy, along with the transparency and intraday liquidity of the ETF format, makes MINT a potentially attractive solution for investors who want to preserve capital while seeking higher yields.

“Investors are holding a lot of cash, and are compelled to look for something beyond the near-zero yields that money market funds offer,” said Mr. Schneider. “MINT aims to maximize investors’ current income by accessing PIMCO’s discipline, risk management and market expertise within a highly liquid and transparent ETF.”

PIMCO’s ETF business is a natural step in the firm’s evolution as a provider of global investment solutions, benefiting from the discipline and expertise that have been a hallmark of the firm’s nearly four decades as a premier investment manager. MINT is the firm’s first actively managed ETF and looks to benefit from the firm’s secular investment process, which considers the top-down financial, economic, political and social trends that exert the most substantial influence on investments, as well as bottom-up credit analysis to carefully select securities.

About PIMCO

PIMCO, founded in 1971, is a global asset management firm that manages investments for an array of clients, including retirement and other assets that reach more than 8 million people in the U.S. and millions more around the world. Our clients include state, municipal and union pension and retirement plans whose beneficiaries come from all walks of life, from educators to healthcare workers to public safety employees. We have a substantial individual investor client base, and work in partnership with financial intermediaries such as Registered Investment Advisors, broker/dealers, trust banks and insurance companies. We are also advisors and asset managers to central banks, corporations, universities, foundations and endowments. With offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, we manage investments across a full spectrum of global financial markets. PIMCO is owned by Allianz Global Investors, a subsidiary of the Munich-based Allianz Group, a leading global insurance company.


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