Executive Leaves Pimco’s Oppenheimer Capital Unit

Pimco Advisors Holdings LP said Monday that James McCaughan, chief operating officer of its biggest stock-fund unit, Oppenheimer Capital, quit after 18 months when some of his duties were assigned to other executives.

McCaughan, 46, who was recruited to oversee operations at New York-based Oppenheimer Capital in May 1998, left last week, a spokesman said.

His administrative duties were assumed by Richard Weil, general counsel at Newport Beach-based parent Pimco, the spokesman said. Weil, Oppenheimer Capital marketing chief Peter Jones and Colin Glinsman, its chief investment officer, now report to Kenneth Poovey, Pimco’s chief operating officer.

Oppenheimer Capital has shed assets since McCaughan, formerly chief of UBS Asset Management Inc. in New York, took over. He was hired by Pimco in 1998 to revive the fortunes of Oppenheimer, whose asset growth had stagnated in part because its value stock focus wasn’t in vogue as investors flocked to growth funds.

Its assets have shrunk to about $55 billion from $68 billion when McCaughan joined the firm.

Calls to McCaughan and Pimco executives weren’t returned.

The decision to move the back-office functions to Pimco headquarters had been planned for a while and were unrelated to the agreement this month to sell 70% of Pimco to Allianz AG, Europe’s No. 2 insurer, for $3.3 billion, the Pimco spokesman said.

A number of senior executives have left Oppenheimer Capital in the last two years.

Fund manager Eileen Rominger left to join Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s money-management arm this summer. George Long, chairman, chief executive and chief investment officer at Oppenheimer Capital, left earlier this year. His investment duties were assumed by Glinsman.

Even with customers putting money in equities after four straight years of more than 20% gains in U.S. stocks, Pimco’s equity assets now represent about 33.1% of total assets, down from 36% a year ago and 44.5% in September 1997.