Pimco Says Zhu to Join China Sovereign Wealth Fund

何鸿燊

By Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam

Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Changhong Zhu will leave the firm to become chief investment officer of a Chinese sovereign wealth fund, Bill Gross and Mohamed El-Erian said today in an e-mailed statement.

Zhu will return to his native China in February to head the Reserve Management Department of the nation’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, Gross and El-Erian said in the statement.

“While we are sad to see Changhong leave Pimco, we are proud that his leadership and investment abilities are being recognized in his appointment to such an important role in his country,” according to the statement.

Zhu is a managing director at Newport Beach, California- based Pimco, which manages the world’s biggest bond fund. A specialist in derivatives, Zhu joined Pimco in 1999 and is a member of the firm’s investment committee. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Science and Technology of China.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam in Boston at sbhaktavatsa@bloomberg.net