Bond Firm Pimco Mulls Foray Into Stocks

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Pacific Investment Management, the world's biggest manager of bonds, is considering opening a stock fund unit for the first time in its 38-year history, reports say.

Pimco is a unit of Munich-based insurer Allianz(AZ Quote).

Pimco may hire an existing management team with a track record, Bloomberg reports, citing a person familiar with the firm's plans.

Earlier this year, Pimco launched its first exchange-traded funds in a move to offer a wider range of investment products, Bloomberg notes. Adding equities would help Pimco compete with asset management firms such as BlackRock(BLK Quote), which is about to become the world's biggest money manager once its acquisition of Barclays Global Investors closes.