Morningstar remains positive overall on PIMCO Total Return after the departure of Bill Gross but is downgrading the fund to Bronze because of the resulting uncertainty regarding outflows and the reshuffling of management responsibilities. When PIMCO co-founder Gross resigned on September 26, 2014, the firm quickly selected Dan Ivascyn as its new "group chief investment officer," and announced that three PIMCO veterans—Mark Kiesel, Mihir Worah and Scott Mather—would take over this fund, with Mather leading the effort.
It will take some time to see how Ivascyn and the new managers will coalesce as a team in their new roles, but there are a number of reasons to believe they will be successful after the dust settles. For starters, this is an experienced and well-respected group, with both Kiesel and Ivascyn earning Morningstar Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year accolades in recent years. As sector specialists, they were often credited by Gross for feeding him their best bottom-up ideas. Meanwhile, changes to the Investment Committee also bode well. The addition of Kiesel and Ivascyn to the group earlier this year following Mohamed El-Erian's departure added important feedback from the firm’s best bottom-up investors, while the returning Fed maven Paul McCulley and veteran manager Chris Dialynas provide economic heft from the firm’s macro thinkers. The challenges posed by outflows from the fund remain a wild card, but a hefty 42% stake in a mix of US Treasury bonds and agency mortgages, in addition to cash flows received from coupon payments and maturing securities, is grounds for cautious optimism that the fund should be able to withstand a significant storm.
The fund’s Bronze Morningstar Analyst Rating reflects Morningstar’s high level of confidence in PIMCO’s resources and overall abilities but also the uncertainty as to exactly how all of these parts will mesh in the wake of Gross’ departure.
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