Praxair Pressured To Swap Aggressive Bond Fund

Praxair is moving $25 million from GMO's Emerging Country Debt Share Fund into PIMCO's Emerging Markets Bond Fund. The Danbury, Conn.-based industrial supplier has about $1 billion in its 401(k) plan. Dan Barton, manager for retirement programs, said the company was happy with the performance of the fund, but GMO is leaving the fund open to defined benefit plans only. The GMO fund is slated to close at the end of September in the plan and the PIMCO fund has been in place since August 1. Fidelity Investments' Emerging Markets Fund was also considered as a swap option.

Barton said participants can transfer their assets from the GMO fund into any other fund in the plan, but PIMCO will act as default if they don't say where they want to put their money. The plan, which has incorporated the auto-enrollment feature this year, offers 15 fund options including both Fidelity's Spartan U.S. Equity Index Fund and Magellan Fund. Fidelity Retirement Services is the recordkeeper and Watson Wyatt is the consultant.