PIMCO Introduces the Total Return ETF: TRXT

NEWPORT BEACH, CA--(Marketwire - Mar 1, 2012) - PIMCO, a leading global investment management firm, has introduced the PIMCO Total Return Exchange-Traded Fund (Ticker: TRXT), providing investors and financial advisors with a new way to access the firm's Total Return strategy. TRXT is managed by PIMCO's founder and co-Chief Investment Officer William H. Gross.

"For 40 years, PIMCO has created investment strategies designed to help our clients reach their goals, delivered in the vehicle that they determine is best for them," said Mr. Gross. "The Total Return ETF harnesses PIMCO's time-tested investment process and our skills as an active manager, and we believe it signals an important new phase in the development of the ETF marketplace."

TRXT is designed to be a diversified portfolio of high quality bonds that is actively managed with the aim of maximizing return and managing risk. Some of its potential benefits include:

• Direct access to PIMCO's portfolio management expertise, including global credit analysis and interest rate forecasting
• Portfolio diversification, income, the opportunity for capital appreciation and excess return in an actively managed, risk-controlled framework
• An investment strategy managed for all market environments, emphasizing both top down macroeconomic analysis and bottom-up issue selection
• Full benefits and flexibility of the ETF vehicle, including intraday pricing, the ability to be traded using limit and stop loss orders as well as daily portfolio disclosure and low investment minimum (1 share)

TRXT adds to PIMCO's expanding platform of active and index ETFs that are designed to meet a broad range of investor needs. These solutions include the PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Strategy Fund (MINT), which is currently the world's largest actively managed ETF by assets under management; several actively managed municipal bond strategies and more than a dozen "smart-passive" index ETFs, including the recently-launched Australia, Germany and Canada Bond Index Funds. Smart-passive ETFs incorporate credit analysis to screen out securities that are illiquid or don't pass other key risk metrics.

More information about the PIMCO Total Return ETF is available at pimcoetfs.com

About PIMCO
PIMCO is a leading global investment management firm, with offices in 11 countries throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Founded in 1971, PIMCO offers a wide range of innovative solutions to help millions of investors worldwide meet their needs. Our goal is to provide attractive returns while maintaining a strong culture of risk management and long-term discipline. PIMCO is owned by Allianz S.E., a leading global diversified financial services provider.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the funds carefully before investing. This and other information are contained in the Fund's prospectus, which may be obtained by contacting your PIMCO representative. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.

While TRXT will be managed utilizing PIMCO's Total Return Strategy, it will not use options, futures or swaps.

Exchange Traded Funds ("ETF") are afforded certain exemptions from the Investment Company Act. The exemptions allow, among other things, for individual shares to trade on the secondary market. Individual shares cannot be directly purchased from or redeemed by the ETF. Purchases and redemptions directly with ETFs are only accomplished through creation unit aggregations or "baskets" of shares. Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV). Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Investment policies, management fees and other information can be found in the individual ETF's prospectus.

A word about risk: Past performance is not a guarantee or reliable indicator of future results. Investing in the bond market is subject to certain risks including the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates; the risk that fund shares could trade at prices other than the net asset value; and the risk that the manager's investment decisions might not produce the desired results. Investing in foreign denominated and/or domiciled securities may involve heightened risk due to currency fluctuations, and economic and political risks, which may be enhanced in emerging markets. Mortgage and asset-backed securities may be sensitive to changes in interest rates, subject to early repayment risk, and their value may fluctuate in response to the market's perception of issuer creditworthiness; while generally supported by some form of government or private guarantee there is no assurance that private guarantors will meet their obligations. High-yield, lower-rated, securities involve greater risk than higher-rated securities; portfolios that invest in them may be subject to greater levels of credit and liquidity risk than portfolios that do not. Derivatives may involve certain costs and risks such as liquidity, interest rate, market, credit, management and the risk that a position could not be closed when most advantageous. Investing in derivatives could lose more than the amount invested. Diversification does not ensure against loss.

The value of fixed income securities contained in the fund can be impacted by changes in interest rates. Bonds with longer durations tend to be more sensitive and more volatile than securities with shorter durations; bond prices generally fall as interest rates rise.

Premiums (when market price is above NAV) or discounts (when market price is below NAV) reflect the differences (expressed as a percentage) between the NAV and the Market Price of a Fund on a given day, generally at the time the NAV is calculated. A discount or premium could be significant. Data in chart format displaying the frequency distribution of discounts and premiums of the Market Price against the NAV can be found on the Premium/Discount tab for each Fund at www.pimcoetfs.com.

Foreign (non-U.S.) fixed income securities will settle in accordance with the normal rules of settlement in the applicable foreign (non-U.S.) market. Foreign holidays that may impact a foreign market may extend the period of time between the date of receipt of a redemption order and the redemption settlement date. Please see the Funds Statement of Additional Information at www.pimcoetfs.com.

This material has been distributed for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission of Pacific Investment Management Company LLC. ©2012, PIMCO

PIMCO advised funds are distributed by PIMCO Investments LLC.

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the performance of financial markets, the investment performance of PIMCO's sponsored investment products and separately managed accounts, general economic conditions, future acquisitions, competitive conditions and government regulations, including changes in tax laws. Readers should carefully consider such factors. Further, such forward-looking statements speak only on the date at which such statements are made. PIMCO undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statement.