On Monday, August 3, 2015, Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC
(Pimco) announced that it had received a Wells notice
from the Securities and Exchange Commission concerning the
valuation of certain nonagency mortgage-backed securities in its
popular, exchange-traded Pimco Total Return ETF fund. The notice
indicated that the SEC staff had made a preliminary determination
to recommend that the SEC commence a civil action against PIMCO
stemming from a nonpublic investigation relating to the fund.
At issue here are the fund's performance disclosures from
February 29, 2012, to June 30, 2012, and whether they contained an
improper valuation of the ETF fund. The SEC has been investigating
whether the fund bought these investments at discounted prices, but
relied on higher valuations for the investments when the fund
calculated the value of its holdings thereafter. The SEC also is
likely looking at whether investors were given inaccurate
information about the fund's