PIMCO to pay $9M in SEC disclosure, policy failure settlements

Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) agreed to pay a combined $9 million to resolve two separate actions brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding alleged violations of the Advisers Act.

PIMCO was fined $6.5 million in a case alleging disclosure violations, in addition to being assessed a $2.5 million penalty in a case alleging policy and procedure failures. The firm agreed to cease and desist and be censured in settling each action, said the SEC in a press release Friday.

In the disclosure case, the SEC alleged PIMCO inadequately disclosed paired interest rate swaps in its PIMCO Global StocksPLUS & Income Fund (PGP) portfolio “had become a material source of distributable income, which enabled PIMCO to maintain PGP’s dividend rate. The continued use of paired swaps also contributed to a decline in the net asset value of PGP.”