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Investment Strategies

Aviation Finance: A $4 Trillion Opportunity Takes Flight

Aviation finance has become one of the largest and fastest-growing corners of asset-based finance. Discover why investors are increasingly looking at aircraft leasing as a source of income and diversification.

Text on screen: PIMCO

Text on screen: Benjamin Ensminger-Law, Portfolio Manager, Asset-Based Finance

Text on screen: PIMCO provides services only to qualified institutions and investors. This is not an offer to any person in any jurisdiction where unlawful or unauthorized.

Ensminger-Law: Aviation finance is the capital that keeps the world's aircraft flying, funding their acquisition, leasing, and ongoing management. And it's among the largest, fastest-growing corners of asset-based finance.

TEXT ON SCREEN: $4 trillion in global economic activity

IMAGES ON SCREEN: aviation

Aviation supports over $4 trillion of global economic activity and moved nearly 10 billion passengers last year. Aircraft are hard, globally mobile assets that can offer investors a differentiated income stream,

TEXT ON SCREEN: TITLE – Differentiated income stream:; BULLETS – Contractual, collateral-backed cash flows, Diversification from corporate credit cycles, Inflation mitigation 

contractual collateral-backed cash flows, diversification from corporate credit cycles, inflation-mitigating real asset exposure.

Text on screen: Greg Conlon, CEO, High Ridge Aviation

Conlon: Leasing is large and increasingly preferred by airlines – operating leases now finance over half the global fleet, up from a fraction in 1990.

Airlines choose to lease rather than own to preserve capital and keep fleets modern, creating durable, recurring demand for scaled financing partners.

IMAGES ON SCREEN: aviation

Ensminger-Law: Long-term demand is powered by a rising global middle class, expanding emerging market roots and a structural consumer shift towards travel and experiences. that demand meets constrained supply. The order backlog now exceeds 17,000 aircraft.

About 60% of the active fleet, keeping capacity tight, holding values firm and lifting leasing demand. We manage the risk by underwriting the aircraft, the airline, and the jurisdiction on every deal and concentrating on the most liquid aircraft types.

Conlon: PIMCO is one of the largest providers of aviation financing across public and private markets, partnering with the former senior management team of GE Capital’s aviation business, then the world’s largest aircraft lessor, to create High Ridge Aviation.

 IMAGES ON SCREEN: aviation

TEXT ON SCREEN: 300+ airline relationships 20+ years of experience 30+ specialists across 8 global locations

HRA is a full-lifecycle platform – origination through remarketing - with 300+ airline relationships, 20+ years of experience, and 30+ specialists across 8 global locations.

The partnership pairs PIMCO’s scale and capital markets depth with HRA’s relationships across the global aviation industry and technical asset management and remarketing capabilities, developed over multiple aviation cycles.

Every deal passes through two sets of eyes:

TEXT ON SCREEN: HRA works globally with airlines and lessors, PIMCO leverages relative value lens to evaluate, structure, and finance

IMAGES ON SCREEN: aviation

High Ridge has boots on the ground globally working directly with airlines and lessors and PIMCO brings its relative-value oriented lens to structure and finance deals globally

For airlines and other counterparties in the industry, our experience and flexibility allows us to provide creative solutions - deepening relationships and ultimately creating attractive investment opportunities for PIMCO’s clients.

Ensminger-Law: We're very excited about these opportunities in one of the most durable and growing segments of the asset-based finance and real assets market. For investors, aircraft leasing offers an attractive combination of potential benefits.

TEXT ON SCREEN: TITLE - Potential investor benefits:; BULLETS – Stable, contractual lease income, Backed by globally-liquid, mobile, hard assists, Return drivers distinct from corporate credit and equity markets

Stable contractual lease income backed by globally liquid, mobile hard assets with return drivers distinct from corporate credit and equity markets. Ultimately, clients gain access to a differentiated hard asset income opportunity sourced by a dedicated platform and underwritten with PIMCO's global risk discipline.

Text on screen: For more insights and information visit pimco.com

Text on screen: pimco.com

Disclosure

A word about risk: All investments contain risk and may lose value. Investments in asset-based lending and asset-backed instruments are subject to a variety of risks that may adversely affect the performance and value of the investment. These risks include, but are not limited to, credit risk, liquidity risk, interest rate risk, operational risk, structural risk, sponsor risk, monoline wrapper risk, and other legal risks. Asset-backed securities may not achieve business objectives or generate returns, and their performance can be significantly impacted by fluctuations in interest rates. Alternatives involve a high degree of risk and prospective investors are advised that these strategies are appropriate only for persons of adequate financial means who have no need for liquidity with respect to their investment and who can bear the economic risk, including the possible complete loss, of their investment. Diversification does not ensure against loss.

Statements concerning financial market trends or portfolio strategies are based on current market conditions, which will fluctuate. 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 for the long term, especially during periods of downturn in the market. Outlook and strategies are subject to change without notice.

This material contains the opinions of the manager and such opinions are subject to change without notice. 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.

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