Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co. is taking over the selling of its mutual funds from its German parent as the investment manager expands from bonds into stocks.
Pimco plans to open a brokerage for its mutual funds in New York and take on 170 people from parent Allianz SE, according to a Bloomberg report.
The move is awaiting regulatory approval, Douglas Hodge, Pimco’s chief operating officer told Bloomberg.
Pimco is the largest U.S. investment manger owned by an insurer or bank. Insurer Allianz, Europe’s largest, bought Pimco in 2000.
Allianz called Pimco’s move “a natural part” of the bond fund manager’s push into stocks and other investments.
Pimco started its first actively managed stock mutual fund last year as it forecasts an end to a long-running boom in bonds.
The company manages $1.2 billion in investments, mostly bonds, for insurers, pension funds and other investors.
Pimco’s brokerage is set to be hire about 80 more people for a total of 250.
The move is designed to align brokers with Pimco’s research and cut costs for investors, according to the company.
