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PIMCO RealPath Blend:
Rated Gold by Morningstar

Active where it matters.
Passive where it saves.

Glide Path

Seeking to Provide a Smoother Ride to Retirement

RealPath Blend glide path's asset class allocations aim to generate strong returns and income, while seeking to reduce volatility through meaningful diversification and help retain participant confidence to stay invested throughout the glidepaths time-horizon.

We allocate 90% of the portfolio to risk seeking assets for young participants who are typically focused on maximizing wealth. And gradually move the portfolio to a more conservative wealth preservation portfolio as participants get closer to retirement.

We aim for our return risk seeking assets to be well diversified, which means they have less home markets bias and more exposure to non-U.S. and emerging markets investments.

RealPath Blend seeks to preserve retirement wealth through a meaningful diversification in equities and fixed income. This is the first step to smoothing the transition from a return seeking to an income generating asset allocation.

PIMCO also employs active downside risk strategies for investors who are nearest and in retirement to help defend wealth during times when traditional diversification fails.

RealPath Blend seeks to deliver retirement income by going beyond just core bonds for fixed income exposure, which seeks to lead to a meaningful return advantage and may potentially improve and extend retirement income expectations.

Realpath Blend Insights

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The three key benefits of PIMCO’s RealPath Blend target date funds are that the funds are: cost conscious, benefit from PIMCO’s expertise in active management and provide an optimized glide path that is focused on individual outcomes and emphasizes income and diversification.

Realpath Blend

Blending the Best of Both Worlds

Most defined contribution (DC) plan core line-ups include both active and passive equity and fixed income options—why should Target Date Funds be any different? PIMCO RealPath Blend is a powerful combination of PIMCO’s active fixed income and Vanguard’s passive equity funds.

  1. Active where it matters, passive where it saves – Powered by PIMCO and Vanguard*
  2. Delivering value for 45+ years with PIMCO’s fixed income resources, and explicit downside risk management
  3. Individual outcome focused emphasizing income and diversification, with a disciplined annual review
*PIMCO and Vanguard are not affilated

PIMCO RealPath Blend

Select the target date that is closest to the year of your retirement, for more information:

Glide Path Leadership

Optimized by Team of PIMCO Experts

PIMCO's glide path leadership team is comprised of industry-leading economists, investment managers and experts in retirement, research and analytics. They employ our vast global resources and a unique, in-depth review process to optimize the glide path for every PIMCO RealPath Blend target date fund annually.

Glide Path Leadership Team

Featured Expert

Joachim Fels 

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Featured Expert

Erin Browne 

Portfolio Manager, Multi-Asset Strategies

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Featured Expert

Jamil Baz 

Head of Client Solutions and Analytics

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Featured Expert

Rene Martel 

Head of Retirement

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PIMCO DC Analytical Modeling Team

Featured Expert

Steve Sapra 

Senior Advisor

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Featured Expert

Niels K. Pedersen 

Quantitative Research Analyst, Asset Allocation Research

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Featured Expert

Mukundan Devarajan 

Quantitative Research Analyst, Asset Allocation Research

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Featured Expert

Sean Klein 

Head of Client Business Strategy – Client Solutions and Analytics

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Glide Path Validation — PIMCO Investment Committee

PIMCO's Investment Resources

RealPath Blend benefits from the depth and breadth of PIMCO's global resources – working to help your plan participants achieve their retirement goals.

250+

Portfolio managers with an average of 17 years of experience2

75+

Analysts on our industry-leading credit research team2

3

Winners of Morningstar Fixed-Income Manager of the Year1

PIMCO – a trusted partner for DC Sponsors

$104.9 bn

in DC AUM2

~84,000

in DC plans include a PIMCO Strategy3

#1

Funds held by DC plans by category4

Related Tools & Resources

  • Glide Path Analyzer

    View 45 glidepaths or customize your own to compare and evaluate allocations and risk factors.

    Compare Paths

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Disclosures

1 The following individuals received the US Morningstar Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year award: Jerome Schneider (2015); Dan Ivascyn and Alfred Murata (2013); Mark Kiesel (2012); The Morningstar Fixed Income Fund Manager of the Year award (US) is based on the strength of the manager, performance, strategy, and firm's stewardship, 2 PIMCO, 30 September 2022; 3 Brightscope, 30 September 2022; 4 Based on study of PIMCO DC AUM and data from P&I article dated December 2021. On this date Vanguard Total Bond Mkt. Index-Inst. had $26b while PIMCO Total Return had $28b.

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 and summary prospectus, if available, which may be obtained by contacting your investment professional or PIMCO representative. Click here for a complete list of the PIMCO Funds prospectuses and summary prospectuses. Please read them carefully before you invest or send money.

A word about risk: The fund invests in other funds and performance is subject to underlying investment weightings which will vary. Investing in the bond market is subject to risks, including market, interest rate, issuer, credit, inflation risk, and liquidity risk. The value of most bonds and bond strategies are impacted by changes in interest rates. Bonds and bond strategies with longer durations tend to be more sensitive and volatile than those with shorter durations; bond prices generally fall as interest rates rise, and low interest rate environments increase this risk. Reductions in bond counterparty capacity may contribute to decreased market liquidity and increased price volatility. Bond investments may be worth more or less than the original cost when redeemed. 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. 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. Sovereign securities are generally backed by the issuing government, obligations of U.S. Government agencies and authorities are supported by varying degrees but are generally not backed by the full faith of the U.S. Government; portfolios that invest in such securities are not guaranteed and will fluctuate in value. Inflation-linked bonds (ILBs) issued by a government are fixed-income securities whose principal value is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation; ILBs decline in value when real interest rates rise. Commodities contain heightened risk including market, political, regulatory, and natural conditions, and may not be suitable for all investors. 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. Investing in securities of smaller companies tends to be more volatile and less liquid than securities of larger companies. Equities may decline in value due to both real and perceived general market, economic, and industry conditions. Derivatives and commodity-linked 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. Commodity-linked derivative instruments may involve additional costs and risks such as changes in commodity index volatility or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments. Investing in derivatives could lose more than the amount invested. The cost of investing in the Fund will generally be higher than the cost of investing in a fund that invests directly in individual stocks and bonds. Diversification does not ensure against loss.

© 2022 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The Morningstar Analyst Rating™ is not a credit or risk rating. It is a subjective evaluation performed by Morningstar’s manager research group, which consists of various Morningstar, Inc. subsidiaries (“Manager Research Group”). In the United States, that subsidiary is Morningstar Research Services LLC, which is registered with and governed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Manager Research Group evaluates funds based on five key pillars, which are process, performance, people, parent, and price. The Manager Research Group uses this five-pillar evaluation to determine how they believe funds are likely to perform relative to a benchmark over the long term on a risk adjusted basis. They consider quantitative and qualitative factors in their research. For actively managed strategies, people and process each receive a 45% weighting in their analysis, while parent receives a 10% weighting. For passive strategies, process receives an 80% weighting, while people and parent each receive a 10% weighting. For both active and passive strategies, performance has no explicit weight as it is incorporated into the analysis of people and process; price at the share-class level (where applicable) is directly subtracted from an expected gross alpha estimate derived from the analysis of the other pillars. The impact of the weighted pillar scores for people, process and parent on the final Analyst Rating is further modified by a measure of the dispersion of historical alphas among relevant peers. For certain peer groups where standard benchmarking is not applicable, primarily peer groups of funds using alternative investment strategies, the modification by alpha dispersion is not used.

The Analyst Rating scale is Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral, and Negative. For active funds, a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold, Silver, or Bronze reflects the Manager Research Group’s expectation that an active fund will be able to deliver positive alpha net of fees relative to the standard benchmark index assigned to the Morningstar category. The level of the rating relates to the level of expected positive net alpha relative to Morningstar category peers for active funds. For passive funds, a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold, Silver, or Bronze reflects the Manager Research Group’s expectation that a fund will be able to deliver a higher alpha net of fees than the lesser of the relevant Morningstar category median or 0. The level of the rating relates to the level of expected net alpha relative to Morningstar category peers for passive funds. For certain peer groups where standard benchmarking is not applicable, primarily peer groups of funds using alternative investment strategies, a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold, Silver, or Bronze reflects the Manager Research Group’s expectation that a fund will deliver a weighted pillar score above a predetermined threshold within its peer group. Analyst Ratings ultimately reflect the Manager Research Group’s overall assessment, are overseen by an Analyst Rating Committee, and are continuously monitored and reevaluated at least every 14 months.

For more detailed information about Morningstar’s Analyst Rating, including its methodology, please go to https://shareholders.morningstar.com/investor-relations/governance/Compliance--Disclosure/default.aspx.

The Morningstar Analyst Rating (i) should not be used as the sole basis in evaluating a fund, (ii) involves unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the Manager Research Group’s expectations not to occur or to differ significantly from what they expected, and (iii) should not be considered an offer or solicitation to buy or sell the fund.

Glide path is the asset allocation within a target-date strategy (also known as a lifecycle or target maturity strategy) that adjusts over time as the participant’s age increases and their time horizon to retirement shortens. The basis of the glide path is to reduce the portfolio risk as the participant’s time horizon decreases. Typically, younger participants with a longer time horizon to retirement have sufficient time to recover from market losses, their investment risk level is higher, and they are able to make larger contributions (depending on various factors such as salary, savings, account balance, etc.). Generally, older participants and eligible retirees have a shorter time horizon to retirement, and their investment risk level declines as preserving income wealth becomes more important.

Target Date Funds are designed to provide investors with a retirement solution tailored to the time when they expect to retire or plan to start withdrawing money (the "target date"). Target Date Funds will gradually shift their emphasis from more aggressive investments to more conservative ones based on their target dates. Target Date Funds invest in other funds and instruments based on a long-term asset allocation glide path developed by PIMCO, and performance is subject to underlying investment weightings, which will change over time. An investment in a Target Date Fund does not eliminate the need for an investor to determine whether a Fund is appropriate for his or her financial situation. An investment in a Fund is not guaranteed.  Investors may experience losses, including losses near, at, or after the target date, and there is no guarantee that a Fund will provide adequate income at and through retirement.

There is no guarantee that these investment strategies will work under all market conditions or are appropriate for all investors and each investor should evaluate their ability to invest long-term, especially during periods of downturn in the market.

PIMCO as a general matter provides services to qualified institutions, financial intermediaries and institutional investors. Individual investors should contact their own financial professional to determine the most appropriate investment options for their financial situation. This material contains the current opinions of the manager and such opinions are subject to change without notice. This material has been distributed for informational purposes only. 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. PIMCO is a trademark of Allianz Asset Management of America L.P. in the United States and throughout the world. ©2022, PIMCO

PIMCO Investments LLC, distributor, 1633 Broadway, New York, NY, 10019 is a company of PIMCO.

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