Pimco net flows, despite increase, lag behind amid controversy

Pacific Investment Management Co., despite investor skepticism and ongoing turmoil at the highest ranks in management, still managed to benefit from February’s boost in fixed-income investment.

Overall, fixed-income net fund flows increase by 237% in February, sharply reversing the trend that began last June when “taper talk” first rattled the markets, and has continued as investors have responded positively to the new Fed chairman’s statements that taper policy will happen in “measured steps.”

Pimco missed out on some of the upside in the bond recovery, registering negative net flows but still posting an increase of 56% in February, to -$2.5 billion. Pimco was led by $58.9 million net flow into its $4.4 billion 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond Index ETF (HYS), which was the only Pimco fund to rank among the top 50 fixed-income funds by February net flows, according to data from Lipper Inc.

As Pimco’s chief, Bill Gross, continues to make headlines, the firm remains considerably off from its January 2013 high of $9.1 billion positive fund flows, according to Morningstar Inc. data. Meanwhile, fixed-income investment overall, which averaged $23.8 billion in net flows in the one-year period preceding June 2013, has cleanly bounced back from its taper doldrums, posting $23.9 billion in net flows last month.