People to Watch
Pacific Investment Management Co. CIOs
PIMCO last year named a battery of chief investment officers during internal turmoil and top executive changes that included the departure of co-founder Bill Gross. After a full year, Daniel Ivascyn remains “Group CIO” and runs the firm with co-CIOs Andrew Balls, Mark Kiesel, Scott Mather, Marc Seidner and Mihir Worah. Virginie Maisonneuve, who was named among the ranks, left the firm in June.
PIMCO’s assets have fallen to about $1.5 trillion, while performance and asset growth of its key funds have been mixed. Ivascyn, for instance, saw its PIMCO income fund grow by more than $11 billion year to date to $52 billion. The fund returned 2.95% over the past year, beating nearly 98% of its peers in the multisector category, according to Morningstar data as of Dec. 9.
Meanwhile, the Total Return—PIMCO’s biggest fund and run by Kiesel, Mather and Worah—had seen 31 months of outflows through November.
The $92 billion fund returned 0.9% over the past year, ahead of 66% of its peers.
Top PIMCO execs were called out in a recent lawsuit filed by Gross, who alleged they plotted to drive him out of the company. The firm responded by calling the suit groundless.
Company to Watch
Pacific Mercantile Bancorp
Costa Mesa-based Pacific Mercantile has been working to realign its focus from “transactional” to “relationship-driven” lending.
The bank’s loan makeup indeed has changed over the past year. The proportion of “commercial loans” and “owner-occupied commercial real estate loans”—which the bank defines as “relationship loans”—came to about 63% of the overall portfolio versus 56% a year earlier. Residential mortgage loans accounted for 17% versus about 20%.
Pacific Mercantile also made changes to its corner office—Thomas Vertin was promoted to the chief executive’s spot to replace Steven Buster, who plans to retire Jan. 1. And 2015 saw two additions to Pacific Mercantile’s board—financial-technology industry veteran Romir Bosu and Denis Kalscheur, who’s getting set to shift from chief executive to vice chairman of aircraft lessor Aviation Capital Group (see related story, page 1)—for a total of 10.
Overall, growth for Pacific Mercantile was clear on many fronts. Assets and deposits increased about 1% and 5%, respectively, though the bank logged a loss for common shareholders of $1.1 million for the first nine months of 2015. We expect the bank’s improved health and change in lending focus could help set it up for further growth and profitability in the coming year.
