PIMCO Introduces Flagship Mutual Fund in an ETF Format

Listen to The ETF Store Show every Saturday at 4pm on KCMO Talk Radio 710AM as we cover everything you need to know about Exchange Traded Funds and the world of investing. On this past week’s radio show, we discussed the importance of PIMCO’s recent introduction of its popular Total Return Fund in an ETF format (ticker symbol TRXT).  The Total Return Fund is PIMCO’s flagship mutual fund and is managed by Bill Gross, proclaimed bond king and Morningstar’s mutual fund manager of the decade.  We explained how the introduction of PIMCO’s most popular mutual fund in an ETF format is a significant acknowledgement by PIMCO that investors are moving to, if not altogether preferring, ETFs.  Traditional mutual fund companies like PIMCO have seen assets flow out of their mutual fund products and into ETFs and they’re realizing that they have to react quickly or risk getting left behind.  Some mutual fund companies were proactive and made strong entries into the ETF space years ago (think Vanguard).   Others, like PIMCO and Fidelity, sat back and essentially prayed that ETFs wouldn’t continue their explosive growth.  Now, companies like PIMCO and Fidelity are scrambling to get into the ETF space before the train leaves the station.  A few years ago, PIMCO did introduce MINT, a short-term cash management ETF, but TRXT is an entirely different commitment by PIMCO given the popularity of their Total Return mutual fund.  It should be noted that Fidelity is in the process of introducing a fairly robust lineup of more traditional, index based ETFs. At The ETF Store, we’ve been talking about why we think ETFs are superior to mutual funds for quite some time.  It’s good to see that a mutual fund company like PIMCO and a manager like Bill Gross are finally agreeing with us.  Learn more about PIMCO’s new ETF by listening to our full show here.