Pimco Appoints Manny Roman as Chief Executive

• July 21, 2016
• By Rajesh Namase
• 0

Manny Roman (Emanuelle Roman) has been appointed as the new Pimco chief executive. Many people might wonder why such a well respected member of the American money market would appoint Roman. One skill that he can bring to Pimco is his experience with hedge funds. Manny Roman has been heavily involved in the Mayfair hedge fund scene, and can use his experience to bring stability and ability to Pimco.

The company has recently lost around 25% of its assets after it experienced difficulties, and investors left in their droves. The major issue was the power struggle between founder Bill Gross and his business colleagues. This became so serious that Gross is now suing the company – not something to give investors confidence and certainly not the best background for a new chief executive to walk into.

After the Gross exit, and the unpleasantness that followed it, Mohamed El-Erian also stood down (in 2014) and was replaced by Doug Hodge, Pimco’s head of operations to that point. It was announced July 19th that Roman will take the poisoned chalice from Hodge on November 1st.

What Manny Roman Offers as Pimco Chief Executive

As one of the world’s largest investment firms, public confidence is of critical importance to Pimco. So what does Manny Roman bring to the table to improve investor confidence in the firm?

• Firstly, he has been a trader himself and knows the business. He is also an experienced manager and knows who to nurture, who to hire and who to fire.
• Secondly, he can take over struggling companies and make them viable again. He proved this with Man: this business was also struggling with a lack of investor confidence, but he washed it out, hung it up and dried it out to become healthy again.

With the financial world in turmoil with rapidly-changing exchange rates and the UKs in-out decision regarding the EU, share and bond prices have been yo-yoing all over the place. Roman seems just the person to bring Pimco stability in this turbulent situation. He seems to be the ideal Pimco chief executive at this time – but results will be required!

Pimco and Government Bonds

The company’s traditional business has been in the government bonds that fund state spending programs. Such bonds have traditionally been regarded as safe haven investments, but are now achieving record high prices due to the general market instability. Investors worldwide are looking for new safe havens and the government bond market is now showing negative yields.

So where should Pimco be focusing? That is up to Manny Roman, and his ability to make the right call when things get tough is one reason for his appointment. Now may be a good time to invest in Pimco – but nothing is sure in these turbulent times. The new Pimco chief executive will have a difficult job, but Manny Roman may well be up to it.