The PIMCO mutual fund group's adviser and two affiliates will pay $11.6 million to settle US Securities and Exchange Commission charges involving improper "revenue-sharing" payments to brokers, said a source familiar with the case today.
The PIMCO affiliates, owned by German insurer Allianz AG, will also settle with California regulators for an undisclosed amount, said the source.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the PIMCO affiliates would pay about $5 million to California under that settlement.
The SEC said earlier this year it had found more than a dozen brokerage firms regularly took payments from mutual funds to tout their shares ahead of others. The SEC said such "revenue sharing" deals were common in the fund industry.
The SEC's investigation has centered on whether investors were adequately informed about these deals, which critics said present a conflict of interest by motivating brokerages to steer investors into certain funds.
A spokesman for an Allianz affiliate declined to comment.
On Monday, PIMCO mutual fund group adviser PEA Capital and two related units agreed to pay $50 million to settle SEC charges of abusive "market timing," or allowing rapid buying and selling of PIMCO mutual fund shares.