Recruiting Drive By Bond-Shop Pimco

Sensing a recruiting opportunity in Wall Street's downsizing, Pimco has asked several investment banks to refer recently laid-off employees about vacancies at the world's biggest bond fund manager.

Newport Beach, Calif.-based Pimco plans more than new 275 positions and has interviewed 475 candidates so far this year, the Financial Times reports. Its current headcount stands at 1,100.

"There is a lot of tremendous talent out there," Chief Operating Officer Dick Weil told the FT. Contacting banks that are laying off fixed-income and other professionals "seemed to us the most direct route to reach out to them." Rather than offering an "open door," Weil said Pimco detailed for the banks the types of candidates it wants to fill slots that are opening up in mortgage trading, credit analysis, and a number of other areas.

The openings are scattered across a dozen countries, according to the FT. Pimco's expansion is rooted in continued asset growth, expanding product offerings and a strategy to grow its global footprint. Thanks to customer inflows and strong performance, assets under management swelled 21 percent in the 12 months ended March 31, to $812 billion. Pimco was "one of only a handful of money managers" whose assets grew during the first quarter, the article says.