Pimco has retained five world-renowned experts on economic and political issues to form a global advisory board. The board will be chaired by former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
Other members include former UK prime minister Gordon Brown, former Singapore Investment Corporation chief investment officer (CIO) Ng Kok Song and former European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet.
The board will contribute insights on global economic, political and strategic developments and their relevance to financial markets.
Dan Ivascyn, Pimco’s group CIO, says: “The global advisory board is an unrivalled team of macroeconomic thinkers and former policymakers, whose insights into the intersection of policy and financial markets will be a valuable input to our investment process.”
Brown served as prime minister from 2007 until 2010, and was chancellor of the exchequer for a decade before that. A spokesperson said he would make no personal gain from the appointment, with fees donated to charity. He will attend regular board meetings and make an annual speech to the company’s secular forum, which sets long-term investment strategies.
The appointment constitutes his first position in the investment industry following his departure from frontline politics.
It will also be Trichet’s debut in the finance industry, following his resignation from the ECB in 2011, although he is on the board of Airbus and has taken several positions in international think tanks.
His appointment follows new ECB restrictions on meetings between the financial services sector and Bank policymakers.
Pimco’s fortunes have depreciated somewhat since the departure of founder Bill Gross in 2014 – assets under management reached a peak of more than €2 trillion prior to his departure in September, but have fallen to €1.36 trillion today.
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