DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Mortgage holdings hit a 23-month low as a percentage of assets
in Pimco Investment Management Co.'s benchmark Total Return fund in
June.
On a market-valued weighted basis, the $161 billion fund had 54%
of its assets last month in mortgages - the last time the amount
was that low was July 2007 and down from May's 61%. The percentage
got as high as 86% in February as global markets remained in
turmoil. Fund manager Bill Gross loaded up on mortgage-backed
securities issued by federal agencies like Fannie Mae (FNM) when
they were beaten down late last year but have rebounded in
2009.
Total Return's holdings of government and government-related
assets - which include Treasurys along with their futures and
options, agency debt and interest-rate swaps - dipped to 24% in
June from 25% a month earlier. Investment-grade corporate debt was
flat at 18%.
For the first half of the year, the biggest mutual fund by
assets reported gains of 6.29%, smashing the 1.9% return for Total
Return's benchmark, the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Index. The
fund rose 4.8% last year, beating some 90% of its peers.
-By Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2354;
kevin.kingsbury@dowjones.com