PIMCO Total Return

Highlights

• A true core bond strategy focusing on high-quality intermediate-term bonds and aiming to avoid concentrated risk exposure.
  
  
• Employs a variety of value-added strategies across the global bond markets to increase total return potential and reduce overall risk.
  
  
• Has sought consistent, solid results in both up and down markets.
  
  
• Use of a PIMCO managed commingled fund within the portfolio allows for greater diversification potential than smaller separate accounts could otherwise achieve.
  
  
• Pursues maximum total return—income plus capital appreciation—an approach pioneered by PIMCO over 40 years ago.

Total Return Philosophy

PIMCO differentiates itself from many managers by taking a total return approach to bond management. Rather than seek only income, PIMCO pursues maximum total return – income plus capital appreciation. Bill Gross, founder and co-CIO of the firm, pioneered this philosophy 40 years ago, and it has been critical to the firm's long-term performance record. Our Total Return philosophy is founded on the principle of diversification. We believe that no single strategy should dominate returns. By relying on multiple sources of value that arise from a diversified portfolio, we seek to generate a solid, consistent track record. 
 

Investment Process

Our investment process utilizes both “top-down” and “bottom-up” strategies. Top-down strategies focus on duration, yield curve positioning, volatility, and sector rotation. These strategies are deployed from a macro view of the portfolio driven by our secular outlook of the forces likely to influence the economy and financial markets over the next three to five years and our cyclical views of two- to four-quarter trends. Implementation in portfolios is effected by selecting securities that achieve the designated objectives. Bottom-up strategies drive our security selection process and facilitate the identification and analysis of undervalued securities. Here, we employ advanced proprietary analytics and expertise in all major fixed-income sectors. The objective is to combine perspectives from both the portfolio and security levels to consistently add value over time within acceptable levels of portfolio risk.
 

PIMCO Total Return managed account portfolios are constructed with three components: a core segment of individual bonds, and two sector-oriented PIMCO-managed commingled vehicles. The core segment normally represents 55–100% of the overall portfolio and focuses on liquid bonds of the highest credit quality. The commingled vehicles together represent 0% to normally no more than 45% of the portfolio and invest in specialized areas of the bond market. This innovative structure allows smaller managed account portfolios the flexibility to invest across all sectors of the bond market on a cost-effective basis.