PIMCO Hires Former TARP Czar
PIMCO announced that it hired Neel Kashkari, the former czar of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), as well as two portfolio managers from Franklin Templeton Investments.
PIMCO said Kashkari will join the firm as a managing director and head of New Investment Initiatives. Anne Gudefin and Charles Lahr will join the asset management company as executive vice presidents and Global Equities portfolio managers.
Kashkari served until May as assistant secretary of the Treasury, where he led the Office of Financial Stability (which administered TARP) and was previously at Goldman Sachs. Gudefin and Lahr come to PIMCO from the Mutual Series Group of Franklin Templeton Investments where they were co-portfolio managers for the Franklin Mutual Global Discovery Fund.
At PIMCO, Gudefin and Lahr will focus on establishing and managing global equity investment strategies based on a “deep value” style approach, according to PIMCO. They will be based in PIMCO’s London and New York offices, respectively. Lahr’s begins today, and Gudefin will begin in early January.
Kashkari will be based in the firm’s Newport Beach office, and will help direct the firm’s expansion into new investment initiatives, including its equities business. He will be a senior member of the firm’s Executive Office and work closely with PIMCO’s portfolio management, business management, and client-facing groups, according to the firm. Kashkari’s first day at PIMCO is December 14.