PIMCO has officially filed for its own set of actively managed exchange traded funds (ETFs). As the world’s biggest bond manager, they’re seeking a share of the rapidly growing active management space.
The filing comes not long after Pacific Investment Management Co. launched its first ETF, the PIMCO 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index Fund (TUZ). Product Manager Don Suskind and Managing Director Tammie Arnold say that so far TUZ appears to be doing very well. The fund currently has about $45 million in assets since its launch early last month.
“We feel really good about our first ETF, and we’re happy with the raise-up of assets,” Arnold says.
Arnold and Suskind also note that PIMCO is taking a long-term view of the bond market with the goal of building a full suite of ETFs for investors to choose from. A slew of filings are awaiting the go-ahead.
Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam for Bloomberg reports that PIMCO will offer five ETFs in which the components are selected by portfolio managers, according to a registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to the filing, three will focus on debt maturing in less than one year and two will focus on municipal bonds. In addition to this filing, PIMCO is also looking to launch six other passive funds.
Pimco also plans to use their bond expertise to compete in the industry formerly led by Barclays Global Investors (soon to be owned by BlackRock) and State Street.
PIMCO is also evaluating some of its other strategies to see if they’d be appropriate in ETFs.
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