Portfolio manager chooses Pimco over croque-monsieur food truck

By Jennifer Ablan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jeremie Banet, who left Pimco to operate a food truck selling croque-monsieur sandwiches in Los Angeles, is returning to Pacific Investment Management Co next week as an executive vice president and portfolio manager.

Pimco, which oversees $1.87 trillion (1.16 trillion pound) in assets under management as of Sept. 30, said in a statement on Wednesday that Banet will return to the firm on Nov. 3 under the real return strategies group, which includes Treasury Inflation Protected Securities. He will report to Mihir Worah, managing director and chief investment officer for Real Return and Asset Allocation.

Banet and his wife own a food truck operation but his wife will now manage the business on a daily basis, a person familiar with the matter said.

Banet's move comes a month after Bill Gross' shocking departure from the firm he helped launch more than four decades ago and built into a $2 trillion investment powerhouse.

Banet left Pimco in June at a time when Pimco and Gross were still dealing with the fallout from the departure of Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian as well as cash outflows and mediocre performance from the flagship Pimco Total Return Fund.

Banet had previously worked for Pimco as a portfolio manager for TIPS and real return strategies from 2011 until 2014.

Daniel Ivascyn, managing director and Pimco's group chief investment officer, said in a news release: "Jeremie's return adds strength to Pimco's deep expertise in real return strategies, as we help clients navigate lower policy rates in The New Neutral which can leave their investments vulnerable to the corrosive long-term effects of inflation."

Pimco also said on Wednesday that the Newport Beach, California-firm has named Nobel laureate economist Michael Spence as a consultant on macroeconomic and global policy issues.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis)