NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., April 1, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- PIMCO, one of the world's leading fixed-income asset management companies, is pleased to announce that Makoto Takano has been appointed President of PIMCO Japan.
Takano, who joined PIMCO in October 2001 as an Executive Vice President, assumes responsibility for the company's Japan business operations effective April 1, 2002. PIMCO has been experiencing dramatic growth in Japan; in the past six months, assets under management have grown nearly 80 percent.
"We intend to further expand our business in Japan, by providing the best service and products to this nation's institutional investors, pension managers and retail consumers," Takano said. "Going forward, we will further strengthen our organizational, product development and customer-service capabilities."
PIMCO has long considered Japan one of its most important markets. William S. Thompson, the company's Chief Executive Officer, noted that PIMCO is currently managing about $6 billion in Japanese assets (the company's overall Asian assets under management total approximately $11 billion). And he pointed out that the company will begin actively trading bonds at its Tokyo office later this year.
"PIMCO's Tokyo office expansion is part of a worldwide drive to expand our fixed-income management capabilities," Thompson said. "The company continues to broaden its investment platform to many areas around the world, and managing Yen-based assets allows us to gain greater presence in, and understanding of, Japanese markets."
The PIMCO Total Return Fund, the company's flagship fund, was introduced in Japan four years ago, becoming the first U.S. mutual fund sold here. The fund, sold in Japan through Nikko Securities, now has $1.4 billion in Japanese assets under management. PIMCO, in partnership with Merrill Lynch, also launched a mutual fund for Japanese investors last October.
Prior to joining PIMCO, Mr. Takano was temporarily transferred to Daiwa Institute of Research immediately after joining Daiwa Securities Co. in April 1987. In his professional career since then, he has consistently been involved in investment-research operations. He had been engaged in developing asset-management models with Nobel Economics Prize Winner Harry Marcovitz in the United States during a two-year assignment from 1990 in Daiwa Securities Trust USA. Returning to Japan in 1992, he became a member of Daiwa's stock strategist team and was promoted to the team head in October 1996. Joining Goldman Sachs Asset Management in October 1997, he was first appointed to sales director overseeing the investment-consulting division before assuming additional responsibility as operating officer and chief of planning and research in November 1999.
With more than $250 billion in fixed-income assets under management in the U.S., PIMCO is one of the world's leading fixed-income fund-management companies. Founded in 1971 and based in Newport Beach, California, the company is majority owned by Munich-based Allianz Group, a leading global insurance company with nearly $1 trillion in assets and represented in 70 countries around the globe.
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the performance of financial markets, the investment performance of PIMCO's sponsored investment products and separately managed accounts, general economic conditions, future acquisitions, competitive conditions and government regulations, including changes in tax laws. Readers should carefully consider such factors. Further, such forward-looking statements speak only on the date at which such statements are made. PIMCO undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.