18/04/2011
Pimco adds to emerging markets debt team
Pimco is expanding its emerging market fixed income team through the hiring of three additional portfolio managers to enhance its expertise in emerging markets. Francesc Balcells, an executive vice president and portfolio manager, will join the firm in July. In addition to managing global emerging markets portfolios and contributing to the firm’s investment strategies, he will lead the local bonds and currency initiatives based in Munich. Francesc Balcells joins Pimco from Rogge Global Partners where he was head of emerging markets. In 2004-2005 he spent a year at Pimco on secondment from the International Monetary Fund where he worked earlier in his career. Isaac Meng, a senior vice president and portfolio manager, will join the firm in April, based in the Hong Kong office. He will specialize in macroeconomic and financial analysis of China and regional linkages integral to portfolio strategy. He was previously a director and senior financial economist at BNP Paribas, where he focused on China, including macroeconomics and equities.Javier Romo, a vice president and portfolio manager, will join the firm in May based in the Newport Beach office. He will focus on relative value analysis, trading and portfolio strategy for Latin American sovereign credit, foreign exchange, and local interest rate products. He was previously a vice president with Citigroup, where he focused on trading hard currency bonds and credit default swaps in Latin America.
