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PimcoIncomeFundSgdHedged
Data as of 30 Sep 2026 (factsheet and all return figures in sections 6 and 7). Max drawdown is as of 14 Oct 2026. PIMCO's own Fund Explorer shows slightly different returns at 15 Oct 2026 (1 year -2.42%, 5 years 1.29% a year). Not financial advice. Jev scores are model advice, not facts.
Verdict (Jev 0.47, a split): a reasonable minority income holding, entered in tranches. Not a replacement for equities. Entry timing is a judgement call (Jev 0.55).
PIMCO Income Fund is a sub-fund of an Irish UCITS. Its primary objective is high current income, with long-term capital appreciation secondary (PHS). The Institutional SGD Hedged Income class (ISIN IE00BSTL7535) launched 16 Dec 2015, pays monthly, and charges a 0.55% unified fee (factsheet). Total net assets are USD 114.2 billion.
| Item | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Effective duration | 7.36 yrs (benchmark 5.77) | factsheet |
| Estimated yield to maturity | 8.37%, gross of fees, USD base | factsheet |
| Annualised distribution yield | 6.41% (30 Sep 2026) | factsheet |
| Average credit quality | AA- (PIMCO method) | factsheet |
| Expense ratio, Institutional | 0.55% (FY to 31 Dec 2025) | PHS |
| Credit limit | up to 50% below Baa3 | PHS |
| Emerging markets limit | up to 20% of assets | PHS |
| Sector (gross market value) | % |
|---|---|
| Agency MBS | 35.4 |
| Investment grade credit | 17.4 |
| Government related | 13.6 |
| Emerging markets | 7.6 |
| Cash and equivalents | 4.7 |
| ABS | 4.4 |
| High yield credit | 4.4 |
| Non-US RMBS | 4.2 |
| CMBS | 3.8 |
| Non-agency MBS | 3.5 |
| Bank loan | 0.9 |
By duration-weighted country exposure the US is 77.9%, the UK 10.3% and Australia 5.3% (factsheet).
| Statement | Evidence | Jev |
|---|---|---|
| Yield is high relative to what the fund has delivered | 6.41% distribution and 8.37% estimated YTM, against 5-year 1.04% and 10-year 2.93% a year | 0.76 yes |
| Active management has added value | 1 year -3.15% vs benchmark -4.43%; 5 years 1.04% vs -2.28% a year; 10 years 2.93% vs 0.12% a year | 0.90 yes |
| Credit quality supports capital safety | AA- average, 35.4% agency MBS, 4.4% high yield | 0.53 yes (marginal) |
Other points from the factsheet: monthly payout, daily liquidity, and a +8.03% calendar 2025 return after -7.72% in 2022 (factsheet).
| Statement | Evidence | Jev |
|---|---|---|
| Duration risk is material over the next 12 months | Duration 7.36; the Fed hiked to 3.75-4.00% in Sep 2026 and 16 of 18 officials expect another 2026 hike (Chase); US CPI 3.7% (Brisk); PIMCO says rising rates will negatively impact most bond funds (factsheet) | 0.91 yes |
| Payouts may not be matched by total return | PIMCO states distributions may come from income and/or capital; 1-year distribution about 6.4% vs 1-year return -3.15% (factsheet) | 0.90 yes |
| SGD hedging cost is a material drag | Hedging cost tracks the US-Singapore rate gap (Kopi Notes). No current figure is in the factsheet or PHS | 0.80 yes (unquantified) |
Other risks listed in the PHS: credit, currency, liquidity, derivatives, high yield and emerging markets. There is no secondary market in Singapore, redemption is on dealing days, and proceeds arrive within 4 business days (PHS). The PHS says the fund should not be a substantial proportion of a portfolio.
Realised downside: 2022 -7.72%, 2026 year to date -4.66% (factsheet); max drawdown -15.25% as of 14 Oct 2026 (Endowus).
Costs on Endowus
| Layer | Rate | S$200,000 per year |
|---|---|---|
| Fund (unified fee, inside the price) | 0.55% | S$1,100 |
| Endowus access, single-fund Fund Smart | lower of 0.30% or your tier | S$600 at 0.30% |
| Endowus access, cash portfolio, S$200k to under S$1m | 0.50% | S$1,000 |
| Endowus access, cash portfolio, under S$200k | 0.60% | S$1,200 |
The pricing page lists 0.60% "below $200K" and 0.50% from $200K (Endowus pricing). At exactly S$200,000 the tier is ambiguous, so confirm in the app. Endowus says it rebates 100% of trailer fees. All-in cost is about 0.85% to 1.55% a year depending on tier. GST treatment is not stated on the pricing page.
Preliminary charge. PIMCO allows up to 5%, charged "depending on the distributor" (PHS). A search snippet of Endowus help says it has no upfront sales charges (Endowus help). I could not open that page directly, so confirm before buying.
Tax
| Layer | Treatment | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore, individual | Foreign-sourced income received by resident individuals is exempt, except through a Singapore partnership | IRAS |
| Ireland, non-resident shareholder | No Irish tax should arise, with the usual declarations | prospectus |
| US source income inside the fund | Dividends and certain interest face 30% withholding. Interest on certain portfolio debt obligations, which may include US government securities, is not subject to it | prospectus |
| Treaty relief | The Company "may not be able to benefit" from reduced treaty rates | prospectus |
The tax drag sits inside the fund and is not itemised. Earlier third-party claims of a 15% treaty rate should not be assumed for this fund.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Monthly payout at 6.41% | about S$1,068 (S$12,820 a year), before the access fee |
| Monthly payout at 6.87% (Endowus figure, basis unknown) | S$1,145 |
| Fund fee already inside the price | S$1,100 a year |
| Access fee | S$600 to S$1,200 a year |
Payouts vary and are not guaranteed.
Backward-looking. This is what S$200,000 would have become using the fund's trailing annualised net-of-fund-fee returns, compounded, before the Endowus fee. It is not a forecast.
| Horizon | Annualised return | S$200,000 became |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | -3.15% | S$193,700 |
| 3 years | 3.94% | S$224,584 |
| 5 years | 1.04% | S$210,619 |
| 10 years | 2.93% | S$266,962 |
Returns are for the Income class, distributions reinvested (factsheet). A payout-taking holder would have received cash and held fewer shares.
Rate scenarios for the next year (arithmetic: 8.37% YTM less 0.55% fee, minus duration 7.36 times the yield change; excludes hedging cost, credit losses and access fee):
| Yields over 1 year | Approx. return |
|---|---|
| Down 1 point | 15.2% |
| Unchanged | 7.8% |
| Up 1 point | 0.5% |
The comparator. The Xtrackers MSCI World UCITS ETF (XWR) began trading on SGX on 13 October 2026 and trades in SGD. It is a cross-listing of an existing Irish UCITS ETF, not a new fund (Dollars and Sense). TER is 0.12% and it is accumulating (Phillip Nova).
It is not SGD-denominated exposure. The price is in SGD, but NAV is reported in USD, and Xtrackers says currency risk remains because the underlying stocks are priced in other currencies (Beansprout, Phillip Nova). The SGD price removes conversion at purchase, not the USD and other currency moves. PIMCO's class is SGD hedged, so the two are on different currency bases.
It has no SGX track record. It has traded for two days. The returns below are for the existing USD Xtrackers MSCI World UCITS ETF 1C (IE00BJ0KDQ92), used as a proxy. I could not confirm that XWR is the same share class. The ISIN, lot size and bid-ask spread of the SGX line are not in the sources I could open (Beansprout). The proxy returns come from a search summary of the DWS page, which I could not open directly (DWS).
| Horizon | PIMCO (SGD hedged) | Xtrackers MSCI World (USD proxy, to Sep 2026) | S$200,000 in PIMCO | S$200,000 in proxy | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | -3.15% | about 14.8% | S$193,700 | S$229,600 | S$35,900 |
| 3 years | 3.94% | about 21.8% | S$224,584 | S$361,386 | S$136,803 |
| 5 years | 1.04% | about 11.8% | S$210,619 | S$349,333 | S$138,714 |
| 10 years | 2.93% | about 13.0% | S$266,962 | S$678,913 | S$411,951 |
Cross-check: iShares Core MSCI World (SWDA), same index, shows 15.25%, 21.43%, 11.95% and 12.88% for the same periods (BlackRock). The two sets agree within about 0.6 points, which supports using the proxy.
SWDA calendar years, same index, as a stand-in because XWR has no history: 2021 21.9%, 2022 -18.0%, 2023 23.9%, 2024 18.7%, 2025 21.2%. PIMCO Income for the same years: 2.60%, -7.72%, 6.84%, 3.61%, 8.03% (factsheet).
Jev: opportunity cost over 10 years has been large (0.88 yes). That run used the SWDA figures, which are within 0.6 points of the proxy.
Caveats:
- Different asset classes and risk. The fund's 2022 loss was less than half of equities' 2022 loss, which is the case for holding it as ballast.
- Returns are USD for equities and SGD hedged for PIMCO, with no conversion.
- No Endowus fee is deducted from either side. I did not confirm that Endowus offers XWR, so assume a broker with its own commission and spread.
- XWR's own cost is TER 0.12%, about S$240 a year on S$200,000, against 0.55% for PIMCO.
| # | Statement | Noul | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yield attractive vs realised returns | 0.76 | Consider |
| 2 | Active management added value | 0.90 | Consider |
| 3 | Credit quality is a strength | 0.53 | Marginal |
| 4 | Duration risk material (12 months) | 0.91 | Risk is real |
| 5 | Capital erosion risk material | 0.90 | Risk is real |
| 6 | Hedging cost material | 0.80 | Risk is real, unquantified |
| 7 | Reasonable as a minority holding of S$200k | 0.52 | Split |
| 8 | Large 10-year opportunity cost vs equities | 0.88 | Yes |
| 9 | Worth recommending with staged entry (5 years) | 0.47 | Split |
| 10 | Start in tranches now, first run | 0.60 | Lean yes |
| 11 | Start in tranches now, with factsheet data | 0.55 | Weak lean yes |
| 12 | Max drawdown alone signals entry | 0.09 | No |
- Hedging cost in numbers.
- Current NAV, so no entry price is given.
- Whether Endowus charges the 5% preliminary charge.
- Whether GST applies to the access fee.
- How much of the fund's income suffers US withholding.
- Why Endowus shows a 6.87% payout against PIMCO's 6.41%.
