PIMCO GIS Ttl Ret Bd Inv USD Acc |



by Brian Moriarty

Pimco Total Return is using a broader range of tools, but with a rigor that draws on the firm's strengths. The strategy's Process rating has been upgraded to High from Above Average. Mohit Mittal took over as lead manager here in October 2022, when former lead Scott Mather took a personal leave of absence (Mather retired two months later). Mittal was added as a comanager on the US and GIS Total Return funds in December 2019 and has successfully managed similar nonpublic total-return strategies since 2013, according to Pimco. The firm named him CIO of core strategies in December 2023. Following prolonged middling performance, the firm tasked Mittal with improving things by incorporating high-conviction ideas from across the firm to a greater degree than his predecessor. These positions are likely to increase the portfolio's tracking error versus the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index—a measure of return deviation from the benchmark—compared with what it had been under Mather. That metric had been at the low end of what Pimco sees as its expected range for much of that time, though. As such, Mittal began implementing a broader series of plays with no intention of pushing the portfolio any further away from the benchmark than its longer-term historical range. The goal has been to improve results without introducing an unwelcome level of volatility, in part via rigorous position sizing. The plan initially raised concerns that it would push the strategy into uncharacteristic risk-taking, but that now seems less likely. Examples of these plays include currency carry and swap spread trades, curve trades, and small positions in less liquid credits. These are things that Pimco has implemented for years across its fund complex. Mittal is assisted in that endeavor by a trio of impressive comanagers. That includes global credit CIO Mark Kiesel, who became a comanager here in 2014 and has worked closely with Mittal on corporate-focused strategies for more than a decade. Group CIO Dan Ivascyn and Qi Wang, CIO for portfolio implementation, were added to the strategy at the start of Mather's leave of absence. The two are important in ensuring the strategy implements a broader range of high-conviction ideas without overexposing the strategy to inordinate risk. These efforts appear to be on track. The US fund's institutional share class returned 2.6% in 2024, beating 60% of its distinct peers and outpacing the Aggregate Index by 136 basis points. |
Morningstar Pillars | |
People | High |
Parent | Above Average |
Process | High |
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