PIMCO is preparing to offer at least five mutual funds, sources tell The Globe and Mail. PIMCO’s current Canadian office has focused primarily on pension plans. But in the U.K., PIMCO is expanding that reach to include retail investors, and the company is reportedly doing the same up North.
Asked about the company’s plans to offer retail mutual funds, PIMCO Canada President Stuart Graham said: “I am not denying it, but I am not commenting on it.”
This allusion to PIMCO’s plans was echoed by Canadian banking giant BMO. Martha McInnis, a BMO spokeswoman, told the paper, “We have been made aware of [PIMCO’s] intentions.”
Five other large U.S. fund institutions are currently in a big push in Canada: Fideilty, Capital Research, Franklin Templeton, Invesco and Brandes.
Industry insiders believe PIMCO is taking advantage of investors’ current thirst for bond funds. They point to the fund giant’s current push to expand beyond its institutional business in the U.K.
