Active ETFs: PIMCO launches funds for investors wanting fixed income and a “defensive anchor”

US bond giant PIMCO has expanded its exchange-traded fund range with the launch of two active ETFs focused on global and European government bonds.

The PIMCO Advantage Global Government Bond UCITS ETF (GOVI) and PIMCO Advantage Euro Government Bond UCITS ETF (EUGO) will seek to outperform their respective benchmarks, the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Treasury and the Bloomberg Euro Aggregate Treasury indices, over the medium term.

GOVI, which listed on the London Stock Exchange and Xetra Deutsche Borse today, will be run by portfolio managers Martin Svorc and Sachin Gupta with Andrew Balls, chief investment officer of Global Fixed Income.

EUGO, which has listed on Xetra and Borsa Italiana, will be managed by portfolio managers Konstantin Veit, Sara Adjir and Lorenzo Pagani.

PIMCO, a pioneer in the active ETF market, launched Europe’s first fixed income active ETF in 2011. The new funds will expand its Dublin-based range to 11 funds covering short term, investment grade, high yield and emerging markets with assets under management of $8.6bn.

Ryan Blute, the group’s head of global wealth management, EMEA, said the launches were a “significant milestone” in PIMCO’s effort to provide the “foundational building blocks” to navigate complex markets.

“With high‑quality sovereign yields presenting attractive opportunities, diversified government bond exposure can offer income potential, liquidity and a defensive anchor, while duration provides a straightforward way for investors to position for macro trends as monetary policies normalise,” he said.

QD view

David Batchelor, senior analyst at QuotedData, said: “Pimco has become the latest fund manager to launch new active ETFs, and in their case these two funds are the first ETFs of any kind they have launched for eight years. Pimco is a name synonymous with bond investing, and I expect that these funds – which will sit within the firm’s Advantage Series – will be a success. The most interesting aspect for me is that the funds will be semi-transparent, disclosing holdings only each quarter, and therefore taking advantage of the Central Bank of Ireland’s recent relaxation of the rules in this area. I have previously mentioned that there hasn’t appeared much interest from companies in taking advantage of this change, so it is certainly noteworthy that Pimco has decided to do so.”

Published by our friends at: