Leading bond fund manager PIMCO has won the Australian Fixed Interest and International Fixed Interest sector categories of the Standard & Poor’s Australian Fund Awards. PIMCO was also named as one of three winners of a new Sustained Excellence Award, which recognises continued excellence and is aimed at fund managers which consistently win a sector award over a number of years, including the current year.
PIMCO Australia was the winner of S&P’s Fixed Interest category in 2008, and Global Fixed Interest Category in 2009, 2010 and 2011. This is the first year PIMCO has been nominated for S&P Fund Manager of the Year.
Upon accepting the awards, Rob Mead, Head of Portfolio Management at PIMCO Australia, said: “PIMCO is thrilled to have won these three award categories and is pleased that our team and our approach has been recognised by Standard & Poor’s”.
Mr Mead said it was both a challenging and opportune time to be actively managing Australian and global fixed interest.
“PIMCO is a very active manager of Australian and global bonds and we aim to generate the best return within the context of minimising risk for investors,” Mr Mead said. “Having a global perspective and extensive global resources has generated a much deeper understanding of the forces driving Australian interest rates and credit spreads, and we’re delighted to see this approach has been recognised by Standard & Poors.”
John Wilson, Head of PIMCO Australia, said the award wins come as demand for fixed interest from retail investors surges.
“Investors in the pre and post-retirement phase are increasingly drawn to fixed interest funds as an effective investment portfolio diversifier and a potential source of stable, reliable income for retirees,” Mr Wilson said
In their eighth year, the Standard & Poor’s Awards involve a qualitative assessment of specific investment management capabilities in a fund sector rather than being based on the past performance of individual funds. Finalists are selected from managers that have demonstrated superior quality in their investment capabilities and that S&P consider to be well positioned to sustain success.
PIMCO is a specialist fixed interest manager for clients worldwide. In Australia, PIMCO manages more than $30 billion across a wide range of fixed income funds and strategies for large superannuation funds, institutional investors, self-managed super funds and tens of thousands of individual investors.
Lee-anne Milton, Head of Research at S&P Fund Services, said that S&P had conducted in-depth analysis across a range of high-performing managers to decide the award recipients.
“The fund managers recognised this year are those we believe are more likely to outperform their peers and investment objectives through the full investment cycle,” she said.
To qualify for inclusion in the Awards, an investment capability must be available and open to Australian retail investors and it must be known and familiar to S&P. The selection process considers investment management capability, peer relativity and achievement. Investment capability is defined as a combination of investment strategy, investment team and investment process supported by appropriate risk management, compliance, administration and governance.
