Topic: How To Invest

Q: Hi there. What’s your opinion of PIMCO Corporate & Income Opportunity Fund (PTY) and its substantial dividend? Many thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: The PIMCO Corporate & Income Opportunity Fund, $18.40, symbol PTY on New York (Units outstanding: 81.1 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; www.pimco.com), is a closed-end fund that invests in a variety of corporate debt obligations and the income-producing securities of non-corporate issuers. They include U.S. Government securities, municipal securities, and mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities issued on a public or private basis. Although the security and terms vary, these are all fixed-return investments. The fund may invest a maximum of 25% of its total assets in non-U.S.-dollar-denominated securities and a maximum of 10% of its total assets in securities of issuers located in emerging market countries. Right now, its holdings include government-related bonds (3.5% of the total), mortgages (37.5%), high-yield credit instruments (21.5%), non-U.S.-dollar developed country debt (12.6%) and emerging market debt (10.4%). The fund’s MER is 1.08%. The PIMCO Corporate & Income Opportunity Fund yields a high 8.5%, but it takes on a lot of risk with its holdings. As well, the…