Pimco is readying a half-dozen funds for a September launch. The new funds will diversify the Newport Beach, California manager's product line internationally. The manager disclosed the funds in a SEC filing.

Famed bond manager and Pimco Chief Investment Officer William Gross is the named manager for all six of the funds. Also named is Jeff Ludwig, senior vice president. Ludwig had a background in trading equity derivatives at Credit Suisse First Boston and Delphi Structured Finance Corporation before he joined Pimco.

He will be putting his equity derivative trading skills to work with the new funds. Each of the six funds will invest in equity derivatives backed by a portfolio of fixed income investments. Gross will presumably be responsible for the bond portion of the funds.

Four of the new funds will be linked to international stock markets. Each will be offered with both institutional and administrative share classes.

The new funds (and their indices) include:

Pimco European StocksPLUS Strategy Fund (Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 Index)

Pimco Far East (Ex-Japan) StocksPLUS Strategy Fund (the Morgan Stanley Capital International All Country Far East Free ex Japan Index)

Pimco International StocksPLUS Strategy Fund (Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe Australia Far East Index)

Pimco Japanese StocksPLUS Strategy Fund (Tokyo Stock Exchange TOPIX Total Return Index)

Pimco RealEstateRealReturn Strategy Fund

Pimco StocksPLUS Municipal-Backed Fund (Standard & Poor's 500 Index)  

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