Over the course of three decades, NFJ Investment Group’s commitment to value has remained steadfast. Our investment process ― built upon the principles of Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing ― has stayed true to the philosophy of the firm’s founders while continuing to evolve in the hands of their successors through the integration of new technological capabilities and advanced analytics methods that enhance the research process.
Valuing the Past, Envisioning the Future
1970s-1980s: NFJ founders Chris Najork, Ben Fischer, and John Johnson manage client portfolios at the Trust Department of First RepublicBank of Dallas, honing their approach by pulling data and analyzing fundamentals to build diversified portfolios of attractively valued, income-producing companies.
1989-1990s: NFJ Investment Group launches (with funding from a predecessor firm of PIMCO), managing value equity portfolios for PIMCO’s fixed income clients. Throughout the dot-com bubble, NFJ stays true to its core discipline and process, paving the way for future recognition of outperformance in the years directly following.
2000s-2010s: NFJ (and PIMCO) are acquired by Allianz Global Investors, and NFJ manages value equity portfolios for individual and institutional investors. NFJ’s philosophy and process are recognized with multiple Lipper awards across multiple strategies.
2016: John Mowrey becomes NFJ’s chief investment officer and focuses attention on parsing enormous (and growing) research data to make faster, better-informed investment decisions in a scalable way. He hires analysts proficient in big data and programming languages, which enhances the team’s capabilities to evaluate companies, opportunities, and risks more effectively and act on ideas.
2021: NFJ becomes an investment affiliate of Virtus Investment Partners (NYSE: VRTS), operating autonomously with the support of Virtus’ centralized platform of services and the opportunity to bring the firm’s value capabilities to a wider audience of investors. As of June 30, 2024, NFJ managed $6.0 billion in open- and closed-end mutual funds, separately managed accounts, and institutional portfolios.